Pilar Rojo asks the minister if they have committed to Bildu to repeal the labor reform and if they have communicated it to the European Union
The spokesperson for Foreign Affairs of the Popular Group and senator for Pontevedra, Pilar Rojo, has affirmed that the Government "reacted late and badly to the pandemic, because they put ideology above the health of the Spanish."
Likewise, Rojo has asked the minister to confirm whether they would repeal the labor reform: "Have you committed to Bildu to repeal it? Have you communicated to the European Union your repeal? Do you think this measure is consistent with our commitments in the EU ?.
"Are you aware -he has reproached the minister- of the intense error that this is going to suppose in Europe? We cannot lie to Europe over and over again and you already know that some international media has said that the data published by Spain is implausible, ”he sentenced.
Pilar Rojo intervened as Foreign Minister of the GPP in the Senate, at the appearance of the Minister of Foreign Affairs to explain the consequences of the pandemic for Spaniards who were abroad at the time of the declaration of the extension of COVID 19 , as well as to expose the policies of your department.
The popular senator used the first part of her speech to ask the minister about her department's decisions regarding the pandemic. Regarding the repatriations of the Spanish, Pilar Rojo recalled that the Foreign Action Law indicates that it is the job of the Government to protect the Spanish against cross-border health risks, and asked whether it could not be expected that the situation would spread globally and affect to Spanish travelers around the world.
"The surprising minister, is that one day before the state of alarm was decreed (March 13), when 73 countries imposed restrictions or some type of additional control upon the arrival of Spaniards, you, instead of alerting, limited themselves to doing recommendations and took four days to make the call to avoid non-essential travel and the return of tourists, "said the popular spokesperson, who believes that the consequence of this delay has given rise to" chaos and crowds in the consulates, without means , without protocols, overwhelmed, with lack of foresight, which have placed our Embassies and Consulates on the verge of collapse ”.
"They put ideology above the health of the Spanish," he said and was interested in why the Government has decided to end the consular emergency that has led to protests at the doors of our embassies, such as in Peru and Uruguay".
The situation of Spaniards who have preferred not to return, such as aid workers and missionaries, and whether action protocols have been established in Embassies and Consulates or agreements have been negotiated with airlines for return flights, have been, among others , topics that the spokeswoman has included in her speech- In addition, she has asked the minister about the number of trips the ministry has had to finance and how many Spaniards have been able to take refuge.
Pilar Rojo ended the first part of his speech asking about the unilateral decision to decree quarantine for travelers from abroad. "It is perplexing," he said, "that such a far-reaching decision is taken a day before the European Commission presents its proposal for coordinated de-escalation" and has warned the minister that his statements are of little use "because, unfortunately, Portugal or Greece deserve more confidence. "
NEGOTIATIONS WITH EUROPE
In Pilar Rojo's opinion, against the minister's statements that "Spain is leading the European response to the crisis, even at such a serious moment, Europe has wanted to count on us to form part of the European Scientific Committee". "I think," he added, "that the only thing that leads our country in Europe is the number of infections."
The popular spokesperson has highlighted the lack of transparency and the absence of explanations about what the role of the Ministry has been in the purchase of faulty tests. Why do they not give the name of the intermediaries? He asked.
"Europe must be a single coordinated and united voice. Spain must give the image of solidity and unity ”and has assured that others have generated divisions in the most crucial meetings. "The enemy has it inside, minister and you know them," he sentenced.
FOREIGN POLICY
Pilar Rojo has assured that it is "essential and urgent to elaborate a strategy that restores our good international image" and to recover the image of Spain as a tourist destination ". He has asked the minister for an “unequivocal message of commitment to freedoms in Latin America. "Spain must defend against thick and thin human rights in Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela."
The senator has asked about the withdrawal of the ambassadors in Bolivia and the pending free trade agreements with Latin America, for example, Mercosur.
IMPORTANCE OF MAGREB AND THE US
In his speech, Pilar Rojo stressed that it is essential for Spain to maintain good relations with our partner and friend Morocco. ” I am afraid that there are members of your Government who are sending very wrong messages to Rabat. You and the Prime Minister must ensure the necessary coordination; it cannot be that there are two foreign policies within the same government ”, he stated.
Regarding relations with the United States, in his opinion essential for Spain, he assured that "the Government must insist on the importance of our friendship and a mutually beneficial relationship, in which Spain is not especially penalized."
In addition, Pilar Rojo has recalled that any economic agreement with the United Kingdom must be accompanied, “prior and inseparable”, from an agreement that ensures the continuity of reciprocal access to water and fishery resources. “Many jobs in the fishing sector depend on it. This Government must clearly endorse this need for the future economic partnership with the United Kingdom to necessarily include an agreement on fisheries ”-
For the senator from Pontevedra, the loss of the NAVANTIA frigates have meant, in addition to a contract of 5.5 billion, the loss of thousands of hours of work in the shipyards of Cádiz and Galicia, “which we cannot afford, and I I fear it is a sign of the deterioration of relations between Spain and the US. USA ”.
Finally, Pilar Rojo has taken an interest in the Gibraltar dispute, considering that Brexit is a historic opportunity to advance Spain's claims on the Rock, and has stated that "if necessary, the Ministry should not shake the hand of the use the right of veto that Spain enjoys, and that was assured by the Government of Mariano Rajoy ”.
