The Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, travels to Brussels this Friday to discuss the diplomatic crisis with Algeria with the Vice President of the Commission and Commissioner responsible for EU trade policy, Valdis Dombrovskis.
Precisely, Albares stressed yesterday the confidence to overcome the crisis with Algeria and, after clarifying that the North African country has not broken the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with Spain, but has suspended it, he warned that the consequences are being studied and a “serene but firm” response to defend Spanish commercial interests and their companies.
A response that could lead Spain to denounce Algeria before the European Union for failing to comply with the association agreement that came into force in 2005 and that regulates relations between the Twenty-seven and Algiers.
Albares stressed that they are “exactly analyzing the implications of this measure, the practical scope both at the national and European levels”, referring to the agreement between the European Union and Algeria. Once this analysis is completed “the appropriate response can be given,” said the minister.
The European Union also ruled on the diplomatic crisis and called on Algeria to “reverse” its “extremely worrying decision” to suspend the Treaty of Friendship. EU sources claimed to be working with Spain to “find solutions to current disagreements.”
“We call on Algeria to reverse this decision,” said the chief spokesman for the European Commission, Eric Mamer, during the institution’s daily press conference. “Algeria is a key player for the stability of the region and right now we are studying the impact” of the announcement made yesterday, added Nabila Massrali, spokesperson for Foreign Affairs of the community executive.
The treaty in question, signed in 2002, frames relations between the two countries and the Algerian government announced its decision to suspend it after judging “unjustifiable” Spain’s change of position to support the Moroccan proposal for autonomy over Western Sahara. “We hope that, in the name of our long and solid partnership that we maintain, Algeria will reverse its decision and work with Spain to overcome the current differences,” Massrali claimed on behalf of Josep Borrell, High Representative for Foreign Policy of the European Union and Vice President of the Commission, reports Beatriz Navarro.
Regarding whether the supply of Algerian gas is in danger due to the aforementioned freezing of commercial operations, the head of Foreign Affairs asserted that “the flow of gas, in the usual line of Algeria, does not currently have any inconvenience”, and stressed that “the What the gas companies tell us is that there is no difficulty with regard to this measure so that this continues to be the case”. On the evolution of the diplomatic conflict, Albares did not want to reveal if there are currently contacts with the Government of Algiers.
While the third vice president and minister for the Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera assured that the Executive does not rule out going to international courts and international arbitration if the tensions end up affecting the supply of gas, since it would mean breaking a commercial agreement, as she explained.
“I am confident that this will continue to function as it is,” said Ribera in an interview on Onda Cero. A commercial contract that, he explained, is signed between the Algerian company Sonatrach and Spanish companies. “We are not going to think that this (the contracts) can be broken unilaterally by a decision of the Algerian government,” said Ribera.
Yesterday, the majority of political formations requested the appearance in Congress of several politicians, especially that of the foreign minister. The president of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo demanded that the Government clarify “if the supply and the price of gas are in danger.”
The popular also hinted that the change in the Government’s position regarding the Sahara could have to do with espionage on the President of the Government. Esteban González Pons questioned “whether the private information stolen from his official cell phone” conditioned “the inexplicable diplomatic swerve given by Sánchez regarding the Maghreb” in the face of “the humiliating consequences he is having for Spain.”
The parliamentary partners of the Government, ERC and Bildu were also very critical and demanded that Sánchez reverse his position on the Sahara because it has opened a new crisis that can affect exports.
