The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, took part on Tuesday in the Warsaw Security Forum, where he defended Spain’s position of preserving, strengthening and reforming the multilateral system – with international law at its core – in the face of the profound transformation of the international system, as well as the fundamental role that a more sovereign European Union must play in all of this. On the fringes of the Forum, the Minister held a bilateral meeting with the Polish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski.
“The real question is not whether change is on the horizon. Change is already underway. The real question is whether that transformation will be governed by international law and cooperation, or by coercion and spheres of influence,” the minister stated in his address to the panel ‘What will come after the liberal international order?’.
A leading forum
Joining the minister on the panel to share their views were the Foreign Ministers of Ukraine, Andrii Sybiha, and of Estonia, Margus Tsahkna; Republican Senator Roger Wicker; and the former Foreign Minister of Iceland and current Council of Europe Special Envoy for the situation of Ukrainian children, Þórdís Kolbrún Gylfadóttir.
The Warsaw Security Forum, which has established itself as a leading platform for debate on security issues, seeks to promote high-level institutional dialogue to coordinate defence policies, strengthen deterrence, enhance democratic resilience and anticipate hybrid threats, ranging from the war in Ukraine to cyber security and energy security. This year’s event features over 3,000 participants from more than 90 countries, including five Heads of Government and over 30 ministers.
Ukraine
In his speech, Albares emphasised the need to preserve at all costs the principles and norms that restrict the use of war, such as sovereign equality, territorial integrity, the prohibition on the use or threat of force, human rights and the peaceful settlement of disputes. In this regard, he added, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is testing whether the borders and political decisions of sovereign States can be altered through the use of force.
The minister called for a just and lasting peace for Ukraine, with credible guarantees, which does not reward aggression and which respects its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
He also advocated for Europe to take a more decisive role in its own defence, with a decisive step towards EU Common Defence as a pillar contributing to a stronger NATO, and with more integrated military capabilities, a more robust European defence industrial base, and a genuine 360-degree approach to security, which recognises that Europe’s security challenges come from the east and the south, and include hybrid and cyber threats, as well as other threats to economic security and environmental challenges.
Bilateral meeting
On the sidelines of the Forum, the minister met with his Polish counterpart, Radosław Sikorski, at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss and strengthen bilateral relations, as well as to review the EU agenda and key issues on the international stage.
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