VISIT OF JOSÉ MARÍA AZNAR TO BRUSSELS

On March 18 and 19, former Prime Minister of Spain and President of the FAES Foundation, José María Aznar, visited Brussels to hold a series of meetings with senior European institutional officials. In some of these meetings, he was accompanied by MEP Javier Zarzalejos, director of the aforementioned foundation.

The agenda began on Tuesday, March 18, at the headquarters of the Martens Centre for European Studies, where Aznar and Zarzalejos held a meeting with its president, Mikuláš Dzurinda. During the meeting, key issues on the European political landscape were addressed, as well as the role of think tanks in shaping reformist and liberal-conservative thought.

That same day, Aznar met with the European Commission Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms, Raffaele Fitto. The meeting focused on matters related to structural reforms and the role of the Next Generation EU funds. He also held a meeting with European Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, during which they discussed the need to advance Europe’s rearmament and strengthen the EU’s common security and defence policy.

On Wednesday, March 19, Aznar and Zarzalejos met with the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola. This conversation covered current European affairs, such as the role of institutions in facing geopolitical challenges, the defence of the rule of law, and the need to push for an ambitious reformist agenda within the Union.

Later, both met with the European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner. This meeting addressed priority issues such as the fight against organised crime in Spain, the migration challenge facing the country, and concerns over Spanish government policies in this area, which run counter to those advocated by the European Union.

The visit concluded with a meeting with the President of the European People’s Party (EPP), Manfred Weber, also attended by the head of the Spanish delegation in the European Parliament, Dolors Montserrat. Additionally, over the course of both days, Aznar held various meetings with members of the Spanish People’s Party delegation in the European Parliament.