Albares stands with Von der Leyen and defends alliances outside of the United States

BarcelonaThe Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, supported this Thursday the commitment of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to strengthen relations with countries like Canada, which the head of the European executive proposed to be the first associated member of the European Union, a formula that does not yet exist in European treaties. During the presentation of the CIDOB International Yearbook, Albares asserted that "it is not about excluding anyone, but about preserving an international order capable of offering security, stability, and opportunities for everyone".

At a time when the international system and democracies are "besieged and attacked", the Minister of Foreign Affairs warned that "it is fundamental to strengthen alliances between countries that share a vision [of the world] based on rules", as, he specified, the European Union is doing with Canada. Albares has warned that the erosion of international rules has a direct effect on the rest of the world, although he remarked that the risks for European democracies are also internal. The victory of the far-right in the small German state of Saxony-Anhalt is "the latest case", he detailed.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs also claimed that in the war in Ukraine, "democracy is being decided and defended" and international law "against brute force", and that in the conflict in the Middle East "the destabilizing effect of violence and unilateralism is palpable". "We must never resign ourselves to violence being the natural way of relating", added Albares, who also insisted on Spanish support for Palestine.

"Recovering normality" in Ceuta

Regarding the situation in Ceuta, the Foreign Minister has warned that "all channels have been used to amplify disinformation" and has insisted that the Spanish government is working so that the autonomous city "recovers normality as soon as possible" and that it does so without "ever losing its diversity and coexistence, regardless of the origin, religion, and background" of its citizens.

For his part, the Minister for Foreign Action, Jaume Duch, has warned of the danger that democracies are becoming "hollowed out" and has predicted that the challenge will be for them to "renew themselves" and "convince citizens once again". "We cannot be satisfied with just resisting," the minister stated, who also claimed that Europe must "demonstrate that the lives of its citizens can be fairer and more humane".

Under the title The Siege on Democracy, the Cidob International Yearbook addresses global challenges and risks to democracies. In the presentation, its president, Josep Borrell, warned of the "normalization of polarization" and asked that, in the defense of democracy, social cohesion be taken into account. "It is not enough to defend what we have received, just as we have received it," Borrell warned regarding the need to adapt to new challenges.