Punto de vista de Argelino sobre la crisis provocada por Fraudez

Successive Trials Of Sanchez Government Due To Current Crisis With Algeria

Despite the Spanish government’s attempts to keep the crisis with Algeria out of the media due to the growing pressure it placed on Pedro Sanchez’s government, the repercussions of this vexed crisis remain strongly present in the political and media debate, as the matter is related to a vital issue as long as it has reached the “people’s pockets”.

And if the Spanish party was comforted by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s assurances that Algeria will respect gas supply contracts with Spain, yet terror still dwells in the minds and hearts of officials in Madrid, due to the decision to review preferential gas prices, which Algeria singled out for Madrid as an exceptional partner earlier.

In this context, Madrid began preparing the Spanish people for the Algerian authorities’ decision to raise gas prices, and this came in the words of Francesco Renes, head of the “Naturgy” company, who said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper “Levanguardia”, Sunday, that “the world is doomed to see a rise in gas prices in the coming years,” in an attempt to delude the public opinion in his country that the hike in prices is due to the global energy crisis and its links to the Russian military operation in Ukraine, and not to the sanctions that Algeria decided to impose on Madrid, ***owing the sudden reversal in its historical position on the Western Sahara issue, by depriving it of privilege of exceptional partner who provided her with “preferential prices” that Spain could not dream of.

The energy company “Naturgy” is the owner of the exclusive contract with Sonatrach to supply Algerian gas to Spain, and the Spanish party has admitted that Algeria has officially requested a price review in bilateral contracts starting next year, which is included in the clauses, knowing that these agreements extend to 2032. .
Before the outbreak of the crisis, Spain enjoyed preferential treatment, but today energy prices have skyrocketed, accompanied by Madrid losing the privileges of an exceptional partner, and this means at best that the prices that will be adopted in the current contracts will be at a level that is traded in global markets.

This adverse contingency would put the Spanish government in great trouble for its citizens, because they are the ones who will pay the price from their pockets, due to a “wrong” political decision taken by their country’s government, according to the estimates of a large section of politicians and media professionals in the Iberian Peninsula.

In an attempt to calm down the situation, the Madrid government is trying to reassure the Spanish people that the disputes with Algeria will not overshadow the gas supply, as stated by its foreign minister, Jose Manuel Alvares, despite the concern over price hikes, as stated by the agency “Europe Press”.

And the agency quoted Alvares as saying: “Algeria remains a strong, reliable and strategic partner” for his country in the field of gas despite the worsening crisis between the two countries.

The Spanish government, through its Minister of Foreign Affairs, said in answer to the question: “The supply of Algerian gas is carried out through private marketers, while the responsibility lies with the state in ensuring the responsibility of the supply, within the framework specified in the current contracts.”

This is the second question of its kind from members of the Spanish Senate directed to the Sanchez government regarding the prices of gas imported from Algeria, within about two weeks, and the answer was the same, which is that prices are set by private companies in charge of distribution and marketing, despite the fact that the question posed is more political than technical.

The Spanish Foreign Minister tried desperately to convince the senators that prices are set by private companies that market the imported gas, while parliamentary questions aimed at touching the responsibility of the Sanchez government in provoking Algeria with its “wrong” decisions, and pushing it towards imposing sanctions on Spain, which was manifested through its decision to review gas prices in bilateral contracts.

Although about three months have passed since the Algerian-Spanish relations entered a dark tunnel due to the recklessness of officials in Madrid, this crisis remains an unbearable pressure on the Sanchez government, who will appear on the eighth of this month before Parliament again to justify his politically unpalatable decisions regarding the burning Western Sahara case.

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Algeria’s Reasons For Immediate Suspension of the Friendship Treaty With Spain

Algeria decided, here on Wednesday, to suspend the 2-decades Friendship, Cooperation and Good Neighborliness Treaty concluded on October 8, 2002, with Spain.

The Algerian Presidency of the Republic published a statement saying; “the Spanish authorities launched a campaign to justify the position they adopted regarding Western Sahara, which contradicts its legal, jovenlandesal and political obligations as a managing force for the region, which still rests with the Kingdom of Spain until the United Nations will announce the completion of the decolonization of Western Sahara”.

“These same authorities, which bear the responsibility for the unjustified shift in their position since the statements of March 18, 2022, through which the current Spanish government provided its full support for the illegal and illegitimate formula for internal self-government proposed by the occupying power, are working to perpetuate the colonial de facto policy using fake justifications”, the statement added.

“The position of the Spanish government is inconsistent with the international legitimacy imposed on it by its position as a managing force and with the efforts of the United Nations and the new personal envoy of the Secretary-General, and it directly contributes to the deterioration of the situation in Western Sahara and the entire region”, the Algerian presidency of the republic explained.

Accordingly, Algeria decided to immediately suspend the Treaty of Friendship, Good-neighbourliness and Cooperation concluded on October 8, 2002, with the Kingdom of Spain, which has been framing until today the development of relations between the two countries.

Spain Wants to Drag “NATO” to Pressurize Algeria

The Spanish government is fueled by the antiestéticars of Pedro Sanchez’s team of the economic and diplomatic sanctions that Algeria imposed on Madrid amid the crisis between the two countries, against the background of what is considered a historical “betrayal” of the Western Sahara cause.

Spain resorted to the European Commission in the hope of protection from the Algerian sanctions, last Friday, which caused anger in Algeria as in Madrid by the political class there, where the government of Pedro Sanchez is heading towards a new slide represented in seeking to involve the North Atlantic Treaty Organization “NATO” (in which it is a member) in the diplomatic and economic crisis with Algeria, which indicates the extent of the confusion in which Pedro Sanchez is living.

In this regard, the Spanish newspaper, El Mundo, reported that “Madrid will ask NATO to act against blackmail with immigration and energy across its southern borders ”during the summit it is hosting at the end of this month, by trying to include these two issues within the alliance’s new security concept that will be approved at the next summit”.

The reference is clear here, and the target is Algeria, with which relations have deteriorated, as it is a major supplier of gas to Spain, and is also considered among the countries from which illegal immigrants depart, along with the rest of the other Maghreb countries, although the latest Spanish statistics in this regard indicate that the clandestine immigrants coming from the jovenlandésccan Makhzen Kingdom are twice as high as those arriving from Algeria, despite the normalization of relations between Madrid and Rabat about three months ago.

Madrid’s attempt to employ the Atlantic Organization in its conflict with Algeria came after Madrid gave up on the pressure card through the European Commission, based on the partnership agreement signed between Algeria and the European Union in 2002, in which Madrid claims that Algeria has breached one of its most important clauses, which is obstructing intra-regional trade despite the official denial of Algeria.

There is a conviction among politicians and economic experts in Spain that pressurizing Algeria through the European Commission will not bear fruit, because the largest member states of the Union, in the form of Germany, France and Italy, will have their interests prevail over any bilateral dispute with Algeria, and Madrid has stood on this reality, after the visit that led the German Secretary of State to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Katja Kohl, to Algeria this week which culminated in the signing of agreements for cooperation in the field of energy and other sectors, and the phone call between the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the National Community Abroad, Ramtane Lamamra and his French counterpart, Catherine Colonna, which focused on strengthening the partnership between the two shores of the Mediterranean.

Before that, at the height of the crisis between Algeria and Spain, Italy took advantage of the situation and boosted its relations with Algeria, especially on the energy level, by concluding new contracts that included more gas shipments, during President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s visit to Rome last month, which angered Madrid that rushed to communicate with the Italian government to inquire whether those agreements were at the expense of Spain’s energy interests in Algeria.

The second approach of the Spaniards is that the continued deterioration of bilateral relations with Algeria lead to their country facing heavy economic and geopolitical losses because even if the member states of the European Union ***ow Madrid in its crisis with Algeria, which is unlikely in light of the divergence of interests, the solution will not be on the foreseeable future. After all, the issue will be referred to joint committees between Algeria and the European Union to look into the complaints submitted by Madrid, and this will take many months, and then the Spanish companies that depend on the Algerian market will have incurred heavy losses.

The last approach was discussed at length by the Spanish newspaper “ABC” on Wednesday’s edition and its front page published a picture of the German Secretary of State to the Foreign Ministry, Katja Kohl, signing agreements in the presence of the Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra, during her recent visit to Algeria, and said that both From France, Italy and Germany are taking advantage of the Spanish failure in Algeria to promote their energy interests with it at the expense of Madrid. The Spanish ABC newspaper also referred to Algeria’s description of the Spanish Foreign Minister as “a fomenter of strife” based on an opinion article in the Algerian Agency of Press Services.

In a related context, Javier Hernandez Lasquitte, the head of economy and finance in the Madrid local government, said that “the worst thing Spain can do is antagonizing its main supplier of gas”, referring to Algeria.

In an interview with a local channel, the official confirmed: “At a time when the entire West is facing a crisis with energy prices, the worst that Spain can do is antagonising its main supplier of gas, as Pedro Sanchez did.”

“I think that the decision of Pedro Sanchez is irresponsible, especially the decision to pursue enmity with Algeria on an issue of paramount importance, which will cost citizens and companies a lot”, he added, “Spain cannot change its position on Western Sahara overnight, without providing explanations”.

He concluded his condemnation against Sanchez by saying; “When you are in the midst of a gas supply crisis, everything that will happen will fall on the government only because they did not consult with anyone.”

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Sanchez Accuses The Main Opposition Party “PP” of Supporting Algeria

The political crisis inside Spain interacts interestingly, in a context that pushes the coalition government led by the Socialist Party and its president, Pedro Sanchez, towards more isolation, due to the aggravating crisis with Algeria ***owing its recent decisions, most notably the suspension of the Friendship and Cooperation Treaty with Spain.

The political conflict between the Spanish Prime Minister and his political opponents, led by the “Popular Party”, took on new dimensions when Sanchez accused the most prominent political formation in the opposition, represented by the Popular Party, of “pressurizing Spain” in the crisis that his country is experiencing with Algeria.

Sanchez said in a speech in Malaga, south of the capital, Madrid: “If there is a third party putting pressure on Spain, while the European Union is defending Spain, this means that this third party supports the party that is pressurizing Spain”. Sanchez accused the opposition Popular Party of speaking ill of Spain at home and abroad.”

The statement of Sanchez comes after the accumulation of political pressure on him inside Spain, and the intensification of Algerian threats to activate the sanctions against Madrid, in response to the radical shift in the Spanish position on the Western Sahara issue, a position that led the relations between Algeria and Madrid in an advanced and worrying stage.

In this regard, the Secretary-General of the Spanish People’s Party, Cuca Gamarra, called on Algeria not to confuse Spain and the Spanish people on the one hand with the Spanish government, on the other hand, because the vast majority of the people and their political, media and economic elites hold the government responsible for the deterioration of bilateral relations with Algeria, as if she wanted to says do not hold Spain and its people accountable for the mistakes of the Sanchez government.

The Popular Party has registered in Congress a request for the appearance of Pedro Sánchez so that he gave “the appropriate explanations” about the crisis that has opened up with Algeria. This was explained on Friday, June 10, by the spokeswoman for the parliamentary group, Cuca Gamarra, who has denounced “the silence and lack of information” by the Government. “We cannot understand how even at this time the main opposition party has not received a call to inform us of what is happening,” Gamarra reproached.

The PP spokeswoman in the lower house and general secretary of the party denounced on Friday that “Mr Sánchez is not informed to anyone, he is not giving explanations and in the end, the consequences are paid by absolutely all of us.” Gamarra has remarked that the PP has presented this initiative before the “silences” of Sanchez and the “lack of information to which they are subjecting us all”, referring to the main opposition party and the rest of the parliamentary formations.

In addition, Gamarra has repeated the reflection that the president of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, made on Thursday, June 9: “One thing is the Government and another thing is the country and in that sense, we appeal to the Algerian Government to take it into account”. “Most of the political parties that represent the Spanish people in the General Courts have not participated in the Spanish government’s decision and its new strategy with jovenlandéscco and the Sahara,” Feijóo assured.

The popular party believes that the Spanish Government has resorted to the European Union as a “show your weakness” because the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, went to Brussels on Friday to discuss the diplomatic crisis with Algeria with the Vice President of the Commission and Commissioner responsible for EU trade policy, Valdis Dombrovskis.

“We cannot forget that he is responsible for the bad foreign policy that he is carrying out without the backing of Parliament,” she said. “The fact that I had to ask Europe for help shows his weakness. We hope that this policy from the European framework can help to resolve this! », she added.

Gamarra declared that “a State policy is a policy that is shared with the main opposition party and we cannot understand how this party is still hours haven’t received a single call about what is happening. That shows who carries out a State policy and who does not”.

The deterioration in Spanish foreign policy during the era of the current government, according to the Secretary-General of the Popular Party, is reflected in Sanchez’s decision to “break consensus and take unilateral decisions without referring to the institutions of the Spanish Kingdom, although the Spaniards are cooperating with Algeria and have excellent commercial relations with it”.

Amid the tension between Algeria and Madrid for nearly three months, media reports revealed Algeria’s intention to raise the prices of gas exported to Spain by 400% in the contracts concluded between the two countries, taking advantage of the inflation of the prices of this important energy substance in global markets since Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine last February, which raises the cost of gas exports to Spain to $10 billion after it was only about $3 billion.

The gas contracts concluded between Algeria and Spain include clauses that allow for a price review, especially in light of the current unprecedented prices. In this regard, media reports indicated that Sonatrach is about to issue an ultimatum to the Spanish companies, led by “Enagas”, to which it has gas supply contracts, due to the latter’s evasion of the Algerian demands calling for a price review to make it compatible with the current prices in the global market, according to the requirements of the concluded contracts.

According to observers, the Algerian party finds itself compelled to move to the last stage in the ongoing conflict with Spanish companies, which is the termination of contracts if the Spanish party continues neglecting the Algerian demands to review prices.

This is not the first time that Sonatrach has entered into a dispute with Spanish companies, as the Algerian company had previously fought a judicial dispute at the level of international arbitration, against the Spanish company, “Repsol” and “Naturgy, ex Gas Natural Fenosa”, and was able to oblige them to pay 1.7 billion euros, and about 514 million euros, as shares in favour of the Algerian company in the assets of the Spanish company “Gas Natural Fenosa” in 2016.

جميع الحقوق محفوظة © 2022 الشروق أونلاين