On 8 April, President of Latvia Egils Levits met with Arancha González Laya, Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union (EU) and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Spain in the Riga Castle.
Visit of the Spanish Foreign, EU and Cooperation Minister marks the centenary of diplomatic relations between both countries, which is on April 9th. Egils Levits and Arancha González Laya both praised the close relationship between the two countries and expressed joint commitment to security and prosperity in Europe.
President Levits thanked Spain for its notable contribution to NATO enhanced Forward Presence battlegroup Latvia, especially the Baltic air-policing mission. He urged Spain to consider joining the Riga-based NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence.
Minister González Laya stressed that Spain will mark the 30th anniversary of joining NATO after a positive vote in a referendum in 2022. Spain has always greatly valued Trans-Atlantic relations. Both sides agreed that NATO must find effective and efficient solutions to the future security challenges.
On the significance of Trans-Atlantic relations for European security, Minister González Laya made a point about increasing global geopolitical challenges requiring greater unity within the European Union. Both officials stressed the importance of investing European Recovery and Resilience Facility funds in a smart fashion, for such investments will help Europe find new development opportunities in sectors such as energy and infrastructure. It is also crucial to promote public awareness and resilience against disinformation and other threats to democracy.
As regards to the Conference on the Future of Europe on 9 May this year, President Levits and Minister González Laya agreed that this is a great platform where EU citizen, especially the young generation, can voice their opinion about EU’ s development priorities, which the Union should focus on in future.
Meeting then focused on global trends, need to tackle inequality and promote sustainability. Arancha González Laya also presented the priorities of the Spanish EU Presidency in the second half of 2023.