Sánchez regrets that the leader of the European PP assumes “fallacious arguments” from the Spanish opposition

2023-12-15 17:31:23

Escorted by the presidents of the European Council and the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel, Pedro Sánchez took the opportunity to defend himself against the attacks that the right launched in Brussels against the coalition government and, specifically, those that this Wednesday came from the leader of the EPP in the European Parliament, Manfred Weber, fundamentally for the amnesty law for independentists. “I think it is a mistake to criticize a progressive and pro-European Government with fallacious arguments from the Spanish opposition,” the Spanish president responded to a question about whether he is worried that the ‘noise’ that reaches Brussels will damage the image of Spain or the your own. “I can’t say much about the perception that others have of me,” he said about his own image.

Orbán blocks the review of the EU budget and 50 billion euros of aid to Ukraine

Sánchez has insisted on the message he sent in the European Parliament about the PP’s link with the extreme right, which upset Alberto Núñez Feijóo for the allusion to the Third Reich that he made in his turn to reply to the head of the EPP, the German Manfred Weber. , and that has not gone down well with the popular bench. “[Donald] Tusk literally said before being appointed prime minister that the problem with flirting with the extreme right is that you end up thinking like them,” he stated, mentioning the new Polish prime minister, who has become the great hope of the pro-European rulers after eight years of Ultranationalist government in Poland with Law and Justice. Von der Leyen herself held a meeting with Tusk this Friday on the sidelines of the European Council and welcomed him with a red carpet even before being named a candidate.

Both Michel and Von der Leyen have praised Spain’s management of the rotating presidency of the EU Council in the face of the furious criticism that Weber made after their clash in the European Parliament on Wednesday, when he assured that it had been “disappointing.” The German (who belongs to the European People’s Party) has assured that it has been an “excellent” presidency and has thanked Spain for its work in closing relevant files such as the Artificial Intelligence law, among others.

The president of the European Council has shown support for Sánchez by showing “respect for sovereignty” and “confidence in the democratic institutions of the member states” in his response to the question about the image that Spain has at a time of internal tension. that is reaching the European institutions.

Von der Leyen has done the same initially by highlighting the “excellent cooperation and solid, high-quality work” with the Government of Spain. Asked specifically about the situation of the rule of law in Spain in the face of criticism from the right, who compare it with Hungary, the president of the European Commission has avoided stepping into puddles at a time when Tusk has just arrived at the Polish Government and that The EU depends on Viktor Orbán’s Hungary, which has vetoed for now the review of the Multiannual Financial Framework with which they intend to channel 50 billion euros to Ukraine.

“For the 27, of course the European Commission is the guardian of the treaties and we work daily on different files to ensure that the rules are respected. “We have full confidence in our Member States, it is the cooperation we have together,” Von der Leyen limited herself to responding, who at the press conference had recalled that Hungary still has 22 billion euros frozen for failing to comply with conditions regarding the rule of law. and not having made the investments and reforms for the first tranche of recovery funds.