Sánchez accepts Biden's "resettlement plan" on migration but according to "the labor market"

Thus, Sánchez highlighted the “innovative resettlement program for people with refugee status” of which Spain has become a part. Through this initiative, Latin American migrants will be able to land in Spanish territory legally and with refugee status, although their admission will depend “on the needs of the labor market in Spain.”

“We cannot establish the number of migrants that will reach us through this new mechanism of the resettlement program, because it will depend on the labor needs that we have,” declared the Spanish president, adding that the interior ministers and from Migrations, Fernando Grande-Marlaska and José Luis Escrivá, are working to make estimates on how many people could come.

Sánchez recalled that his government and that of the US have “a very similar vision on how to deal with the fight against irregular immigration”, in order to combat “the mafias that traffic and play with the lives of many human beings”.

In this regard, it has stressed that the resettlement program is added to “the circular migration projects that Spain has with Latin American countries” and a “talent recruitment program for highly qualified personnel”.

[Spain accepts that the US diverts Latino migrants to it every month from centers in Guatemala and Colombia]

On the other hand, the other announcement that is extracted from the meeting between both leaders is the participation of Spain in the Artemis project, the NASA initiative to set foot on the Moon again in the coming years.. In addition, the agreement between NASA and the new Spanish Space Agency, based in Seville, has been strengthened.

Rota, Palomares and the olive, key issues

The bilateral talks have not been limited to migration and the collaboration of Spain in important aerospace projects. The presidents have also spoken about the recent agreement by which Spain will allow the deployment of two new US Navy ships at the Rota Naval Base, so that there will be up to 6 ships of these characteristics that may be docked at the Cadiz facilities .

In addition, Sánchez has assured that there has been “progress” in relation to the United States cleaning up, as promised in 2015, the land that was contaminated with radioactivity in 1966, when a US bomber crashed off the coast of the town of Almería. of Palomares. The B-52 carried four thermonuclear bombs that fell on land and sea and left traces of plutonium.

“We have agreed to show our willingness to solve this problem and we have transferred the technical teams to meet as soon as possible, to be able to extract these contaminated lands and be able to get them out of Spain,” Sánchez stated.. Although he has not indicated it after passing through the White House, the 2015 pact indicates that the radioactive remains would end up in the Nevada desert.

But not everything has been positive in bilateral matters. The president has indicated that the only “friction point in relations that I would describe as extraordinary” is the tariff that the US placed on black olives when the Trump Administration, in June 2018, created a 34.7% tax on imports of this raw material. Despite the ruling of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which declared it illegal in 2021, the tariff continues to apply.

The Spanish leader has indicated, however, that he has found “receptivity” in Biden to solve this “dispute” that goes back five years and with respect to which the WTO “has been clear”. The Spanish Association of Table Olive Exporters and Industrialists (Asemesa) pointed out this week that the sector has lost 70% of its exports in this period, which means that it has stopped earning about 230 million euros.

Multilateral relations: Ukraine and Latin America

Biden and Sánchez have also had a “long and extensive dialogue about the situation in Ukraine”. The Spanish president stressed that within Europe there is an “execrable war” in which “there is an aggressor and a victim, and the aggressor is Putin”. “What Putin is doing is not only invading Ukraine, but also questioning the borders and European security,” he said.

In this sense, he has once again called for a “just and lasting peace” in Ukraine, a peace that inexorably passes through “the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian soil.”

Sánchez has listed some of the Spanish initiatives to support the country led by Volodímir Zelenski, such as welcoming “more than 170,000 refugees”, financial aid or the commitment to collaborate in the reconstruction when the war ends. He also recalled that, during the Spanish presidency of the Council of the EU, the report on the progress of the reforms that Ukraine is carrying out to become a Member State of the EU will be published.

Regarding Latin America, beyond the migration issue, Sánchez has shown Biden the “interest of Spain in holding a summit between the US and CELAC”, something that has not happened since 2015, to strengthen ties with the Latin American community.

In the words of Sánchez, the Oval Office has also hosted conversations on other global challenges, such as the “digital revolution and digital rights”, “artificial intelligence and the impact it can have on our democracy, on our societies”, the fight for gender equality or the issue of the “energy transition linked to climate change”.

Thus, on the environmental issue, the Spanish president considers that both leaders are “very aligned with the green transition” and with the commitment to green hydrogen, “to mitigate climate change, but also to make our economies much more competitive”. They have also agreed to promote COP28 to achieve “the best results” at the climate summit to be held in Dubai in December of this year.

mutual compliments

Positive comments regarding the match have been issued from both parties.. Moncloa sources point out that in the meeting there has been “a lot of complicity”, as well as “recognition and respect”. Sánchez has stressed that Biden is “an example of commitment in the defense of democratic values”, a leader who is “in shape” and whom he has seen “with desire, with determination, with strength”.

For his part, Biden tweeted before the meeting that he was “proud” to welcome “close ally and companion” Pedro Sánchez to “deepen the historic ties between our nations.”. After the meeting, he stated that it had been “a pleasure” to have a conversation about the issues mentioned. “We are proudly working together to meet these important challenges,” he said.

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