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Joint engagement for Europe’s security and future: Foreign Minister Wadephul travels to Spain and Portugal
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and his Spanish counterpart José Manuel Albares Bueno © Photothek Media Lab
Foreign Minister Wadephul’s talks in Spain and Portugal will focus on topics including Europe’s defence capabilities and support for Ukraine, as well as economic issues such as competitiveness and the climate-friendly restructuring of our economy.
Dialogue with important European partners at an early stage
Just a few weeks after assuming office, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul is continuing the close exchange with key European partners with his first official visit to Spain and Portugal. After initial personal meetings with his Iberian counterparts, not least at the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels and the informal NATO Foreign Ministers meeting in Antalya, the trip to Madrid and Lisbon underscores the importance of Spain and Portugal as trusted partners of Germany in geopolitically challenging times. Prior to his departure, Foreign Minister Wadephul emphasised:
Cohesion and an ability to act are the pillars on which we must base our joint endeavours to tackle the most important political tasks in Europe. No European country can overcome the huge challenges facing us by acting alone.
In focus: security, defence and global dialogue.
The talks with Spanish Foreign Minister José Albares in Madrid and with Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel in Lisbon will centre on the question of how to strengthen Europe’s security and its defence capabilities. Not only are Spain and Portugal close EU partners, they are also NATO allies with whom Germany coordinates closely on all foreign and security policy issues. Furthermore, Spain works with Germany in the Weimar Plus format, a platform for regular dialogue between the largest countries in Europe. The goal of the format is to rapidly expand Europe’s defence capabilities against the backdrop of geopolitical upheaval.
As important players in shaping dialogue with countries in Latin America and Africa, Spain and Portugal also play a central role in embracing Europe’s global responsibility and developing its international relationships in an increasingly complex world.
For Germany and our partners on the Iberian Peninsula, it is clear that support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s war of aggression remains the crucial task for European security. The threat to peace in Europe from Russia is also a central issue in Spain and Portugal, despite their distance from Ukraine. Together, we want to work to ensure that commitment to Ukraine throughout the world, and above all across the Atlantic, remains high so that Ukraine can engage in future peace negotiations from the best possible position.
Expansion of bilateral and economic ties
Germany, Spain and Portugal are linked by a close network of cultural, social and economic relations. This network is to be expanded further, also and particularly in the fields of science and business, where the climate-neutral transformation of the European economy harbours considerable common potential. As pioneers in the area of renewable energies and hydrogen and its derivatives, Spain and Portugal have a key role to play in the decarbonisation of our continent and in helping to reduce our dependency as Europeans on energy imports.