Sánchez assures that Spain is going to "accelerate" the parliamentary process for the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO

Calls on the international community to "isolate Putin" and emphasizes that the invasion of Ukraine has global consequences

MADRID, 24 May. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, announced this Tuesday that Spain is going to accelerate the parliamentary process to approve Sweden and Finland's accession to NATO and that the political will of the member countries is to welcome these countries.

In a speech at the World Economic Forum being held in Davos, Sánchez pointed out that he is going to fulfill his commitment to these two countries, which he has described as "very consolidated democracies" and that it is therefore "very important" that they are both in the NATO as in the European Union. When asked if Sweden and Finland will be at the Atlantic Alliance summit to be held in Madrid at the end of June, Sánchez replied: "Of course".

Thus, he has indicated that at this summit they will welcome these two new members, which will bring "stability" to the EU and to the future of the Alliance. Along these same lines, that the main result expected from this meeting is unity between NATO and the EU, defining the strategic concept and the organization until 2030.

Sánchez pointed out that the message that will come out of Madrid is that they must face the challenge that the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, is launching on the eastern flank and also the threats coming from sub-Saharan countries. In this way he thinks that the alliance between the two organizations will be strengthened.

In his opinion, one of Putin's main mistakes was underestimating the reaction of the EU and NATO to the invasion of Ukraine and that before the war there were some important actors who were reflecting on what to do about the Atlantic Alliance but now they have The importance of keeping countries like the United States and Canada as partners has become clear.

On the other hand, Sánchez has stressed that Putin's challenge affects the entire world and therefore they must share this concern with partners outside the EU. Likewise, he has indicated that it is a global crisis and that the international community must "isolate Putin."

In this regard, he pointed out that this is something that they are promoting through dialogue with Latin American leaders because "it is a global challenge", as he stated. He finally wanted to recall that Russia is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and therefore what is at stake is the world order.

Finally, regarding the EU's strategic autonomy policy, it has opted to open it up to other regions such as Latin America. "It's a great opportunity" for European partners.