Sánchez censures that there are ETA members on Bildu lists: "There are things that can be legal, but not decent"

The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has indicated that the inclusion of 44 people convicted of belonging to and collaborating with ETA in the EH Bildu lists for the regional and municipal elections on May 28 “is legal, but not decent” and “deserves the greatest of reproaches”.

Sánchez stated at the end of the meeting with his American counterpart, Joe Biden, that “12 years ago, Spanish democracy defeated ETA and the job of political leaders is, therefore, to recognize and support the victims of terrorism”. Likewise, he has said that “the only thing that these people can contribute to public life is a message of forgiveness, reparation and repentance”.

“We have a clear and unequivocal position on everything that has to do with terrorism, we have always worked for the unity of the Democrats”, added the head of the Executive on the issue that marked the start of the electoral campaign, with the opposition and part of the PSOE asking Sánchez to break relations with the abertzale left.

During the bilateral meeting, both presidents addressed key issues for ties between the two countries, such as the cleanup of contaminated land in Palomares and tariffs on Spanish black olives, two issues on which Sánchez said that “there is progress”. The President of the Government explained that the technical teams of the two countries will meet “as soon as possible” to work on a permanent solution to clean the soil contaminated with plutonium in Palomares (Almería).

Immigration has been another of the issues that have been on the table. The migratory phenomenon is one of the hottest topics in the United States today, since last morning the so-called Title 42, the package of restrictions on migration due to the covid-19 pandemic that was launched by the former president, ended Trump. For this reason, there is already an increase in the arrival of migrants at the border with Mexico..

In this sense, Spain has agreed to join the program promoted by Washington to promote migration through regular channels through prior work contracts, through reception centers in Colombia and Guatemala..

“Both governments have a similar vision with regard to the fight against irregular migration,” the leader of the Spanish Executive asserted. “We cannot establish the number of migrants that will arrive because it will depend on labor needs that we have in Spain”, stressed.

Sánchez has defined the meeting with Biden as “very satisfactory” and has highlighted “the US president's commitment to democratic values”.

The two leaders have discussed the situation in Ukraine at the beginning of this meeting. “We have underlined the transatlantic unity and the unity of all NATO allies in our support for Ukraine and in respect for territorial integrity,” he said..

Subsequently, they have discussed the impact of the digital revolution, artificial intelligence and energy transformation in today's societies. In this sense, Sánchez stressed that the policies of the two Executives are “aligned” with regard to climate objectives, the green transition and the commitment to renewable energies. “Not only to mitigate the effects of climate change, but to make our policies more competitive,” he added..

After discussing these issues, the leaders have given way to relations between the US and the European Union. At this point, the Prime Minister has conveyed to his US counterpart his interest in holding a summit in Spain between the EU and CELAC, which has not been held since 2015 in Brussels.

With regard to the bilateral agenda beyond Palomares, Sánchez has highlighted several agreements, such as the destroyers in Rota or the incorporation of Spain into the Artemis project. The agreement between NASA and the Spanish Space Agency, based in Seville, has also been strengthened, among other matters..

Sánchez's first visit to the White House

This is Sánchez's first visit to the White House, which occurs in the last year of his term and more than five years after the last invitation to a Spanish president, that of Donald Trump to Mariano Rajoy in September 2017.

In this way, he becomes the sixth president of the democracy to be invited and follows a tradition started by Adolfo Suárez, who attended twice, Felipe González, four times, and José María Aznar, who visited it six times. More recently, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was invited by Barack Obama in 2009 and Mariano Rajoy attended twice, with Obama and the last time with Trump.

The trip of the Chief Executive to Washington also coincides with the start of the electoral campaign for the regional and municipal elections on May 28.