Presentation of the document “General Elections in Spain 2015: The international priorities of political parties”

The questions

1. In your opinion, what would be the three main priorities of Spain's foreign policy in the next four years?
2. Do you believe that Spain's international weight and projection are commensurate with its size and ambitions? What measures or actions would you propose to improve our country's international role?
3. The European Union (EU) seems far from achieving its goal of becoming a global actor: how do you think the EU's position in the world and its influence on international affairs could be strengthened?
4. As a medium and long-term goal, would you be in favor of a federal Europe or of moving decisively towards a true “United States of Europe”?
5. European countries have drastically reduced their defense budgets as a consequence of the crisis. In a context of growing tensions and insecurity, NATO agreed at the end of 2014 to gradually increase them to 2% of GDP, with a significant R&D component. Furthermore, progress is being made towards a European defense framework. Do you share these objectives? What do you believe the priorities should be?
6. Are you in favor of maintaining, reducing, or increasing Spain's participation in international missions?
7. Congress recently authorized the permanent use of the Morón air base by the US for missions in Africa, subject to the limitations established by bilateral agreements. What are your thoughts on this decision?
8. The EU has made progress in recent years in concluding free trade agreements. Following Central America and the Andean Community countries, agreements have been reached with South Korea and Canada, among others, and negotiations are underway with Mercosur, India, and the US. In the latter case, what requirements should the agreement meet? TTIP What is being negotiated between the EU and the US?
9. China is seen by European companies as a vast market, but also as an aggressive competitor with an unfair advantage: how do you think they should act in the face of this competition? Are you in favor of protectionist measures?
10. Spain has a significant energy deficit that reduces its energy independence and negatively impacts its trade balance. What medium- and long-term measures would you propose to reduce this deficit and reverse the current situation?
11. Spain's Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending has been reduced to less than half during the crisis. What measures would you propose to recover previous levels and move towards the target of 0,7% of GDP? Would you support enshrining this target in law, as the United Kingdom has done?
12. Many of the countries around us have "nation branding strategies." Do you consider the Spain Brand initiative appropriate? Do you think it should be modified? If so, in what way?
13. And speaking of strategies, in this legislative session, in addition to the Law on Foreign Action and the Law on the State Foreign Service, two strategic documents on Foreign Action and Security have been approved, although no significant consensus has been reached on the first two. Do you believe these instruments are necessary? What do you think their future should be in the next legislative session?
14. With 500 million speakers, Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world—and the third most used on the internet. How do you think Spain should leverage the influence of the Spanish language and culture?
15. How do you assess the current Ibero-American relationship? How do you think it could be renewed and strengthened?
16. The conflict that arose after Russia's intervention in Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea has shattered the goal of having Russia as a partner in Europe's security, stability, and prosperity. How do you think trust can be rebuilt and that goal achieved?
17. The “Arab Spring” has become a scenario of conflict in some cases and, in others, of threats to the stability and security of the countries of the southern Mediterranean. What should Spain's objectives be in this scenario?
18. Morocco, due to its proximity and for all sorts of reasons—migration, economic, and security—is a very important country for Spain. What measures would you propose to strengthen that relationship?
19. It is sometimes pointed out that Spain's foreign policy instruments (diplomacy, trade, culture, security, cooperation, etc.) are poorly coordinated due to inadequate cooperation between the public and private sectors, occasional conflicts with the autonomous communities, or departmental fragmentation. What changes do you believe are necessary to better structure these instruments? What role do you think the Prime Minister's Office should play in this regard?
20. Do you believe that in Spain there is a consensus on the main pillars of our foreign policy? Do you think that, as is often said, foreign policy, by its very nature, requires such consensus?
21. If so, how could a broad understanding be articulated that would give stability to Spain's foreign policy?