In a joint press conference with five journalists from five newspapers published by the group Prensa Ibérica, Foreign Minister Arancha González Laya emphasizes the importance of European collaboration in the fight against the pandemic and reviews other current international affairs and Spanish diplomatic relations.
Is the government pleased with the speed with which the vaccine program is moving?
To begin, I’d like to emphasize the government’s efforts to protect residents through immunization. And we’ve done it on a European scale. True, with this technique, we confronted the immense obstacle of identifying and producing a vaccine in less than a year. This is unusual in history, and as a result, the arrival of vaccines in our country has been rather inconsistent, but we all expected that this would be the case in the first quarter. We also stated, and this is happening, that the arrival would become more frequent in the second quarter. Every Monday in April, more than one million doses of vaccine purchased by Spain through the European Union arrive, demonstrating that the government’s efforts to provide access to the vaccination for all Spaniards are bearing fruit.
In Spain, I believe we are doing prudently. The effort we put in over the next few weeks will determine whether we have a more or less normal summer. We must maintain vigilance at all times, even when we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
What method is the government developing to encourage tourism recovery in the short term?
Tourism services account for roughly 13% of our GDP and have thus been at the forefront of the government’s objectives since the beginning of the pandemic. It has been in terms of assistance, and it surely is today in terms of creating the return to orderly and safe mobility. That is why, on a global scale, Spain has taken the lead in developing vaccination certificates that will allow us to regain mobility. This certificate will be in place by the middle of June at the very latest.
Ximo Puig, president of the Generalitat Valenciana, remarked about the necessity for a review of the patent system. What is the government’s stance?
Patents have an international regulation; it is an agreement in the World Trade Organization that already provides for the option of repealing these patents and, in some cases, to repeal them both at the request of a country and by the own decision of whoever owns the patent. But the issue currently isn’t so much one of patents as it is one of productive ability. And lifting the patent will not fix the problem.
This is addressed through a public-private partnership in which public funds assist private enterprises in areas where there are bottlenecks. That is what the European Union has aimed to accomplish, and it is for this reason that we in Spain have collaborated with numerous pharmaceutical laboratories that are now manufacturing these vaccinations in Spain. And our goal is to keep investing in Spanish companies so that they may expand their production capacity.
“We have noticed a shift in the United States’ posture, favoring discussion and negotiation with its partners and allies.”
Minister of Foreign Affairs Arancha González Laya
Some lawyers have expressed concern that the level of criteria for British citizens to remain in Spain has been raised. Is there a harsher stance toward British residents?
No, we have not changed the requirements; they remain unchanged. All citizens who lived on our territory prior to Brexit retain the same rights. We urged that citizens obtain a temporary residence card, or TIE, to help with administrative procedures and border crossings, but the standards were not strengthened. They are those negotiated in the agreement on the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union. There is still the option of negotiating between Spain and the United Kingdom on specific citizenship concerns, which we are investigating in order to better safeguard both our citizens in the United Kingdom and the citizens of the United Kingdom on our territory, where they will always be welcome.
Is the government thinking about relaxing investor visa criteria as a way to spur economic recovery?
At the moment, Spain is not having difficulty attracting investment because the attraction of investors is based on two factors: first, there is a lot of international liquidity, and second, Spain is an attractive country because it is implementing a recovery plan with some very clear axes, but it is also very appealing to foreign investors. I don’t believe we need to loosen the conditions for investing in Spain. We will offer the Spanish Recovery Plan to these investors, which will be approved shortly, and invite them to invest in Spain in high-added-value investments.
What role can these European recovery funds play in reviving the economy?
Our country will continue to receive structural money, cohesion funds, and CAP agriculture funds. In addition to this funding, there is a European recovery fund that prioritizes our country’s ability to articulate a series of initiatives that respond to the four major axes that our country has identified: decarbonization, digitalization, territorial cohesion, and equality between men and women, a vector that we sometimes overlook but that represents additional points of GDP, equality improves GDP. Our country is developing a recovery plan with the help of the autonomous communities, identifying priorities so that the plan reflects Spain’s territorial variety, as well as our country’s ability to deliver transformation projects that will be described later. However, it will enable a new modernization of our economy and social structure.
For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.
With questions from: Juanma Vázquez (LEVANTE-EMV), Flora Marimón (LA PROVINCIA), José Antonio Sau (LA OPINIÓN DE MÁLAGA), María José Iglesias (LA NUEVA ESPAÑA) and Miguel Ángel Rodríguez (EL PERIÓDICO). Photos: José Luis Roca