Spain Notes, Dec 22: Spain flip-flops and then BLOCKS EU role in Gulf of Aden mission
Has Spain just thwarted ANY European participation in Prosperity Guardian?
1/ After Spain REJECTED the idea of taking part in the new US-led naval coalition in the Gulf of Aden on Tuesday, Cadena SER reported on Wednesday that Spain would take part, citing a social media post by a Spanish Vice Admiral in charge of Operation Atlanta, the EU anti-piracy mission off the horn of Africa. The story said Spain would be taking part in Prosperity Guardian via the existing force.
Comment: US-Spain clash on Yemen mission. Why was Spain on the new US coalition list for the Gulf of Aden, and then not?
2/ No trace is to be found anymore of a social media post by Admiral Villanueva, of course, and the verb tenses in the report were still of future participation, still to happen in time…
3/ El Español ran a similar story, reporting that they had already confirmed the news with a Spanish office in NATO and then lower down posting a direct quote from the Admiral (presumably the text of his social media post) in which he stated that the coopeartion HAD ALREADY BEGUN: “the mission has already begun to cooperate with Operation Prosperity Guardian in the southern Red Sea, and hopes to offer even more support”.
4/ The EU and NATO published a joint statment on Tuesday: “The undersigned condemn Houthi interference with navigational rights and freedoms in the waters around the Arabian Peninsula, particularly the Red Sea”. No mention of military forces.
5/ The Spanish Defence Staff tweeted on the issue on Wednesday evening, again walking back the enthusiasm and the commitment: “Spain will take the appropriate decisions at the right time and taking into account all the concurrent circumstances, particularly within the EU framework, regarding a possible participation in Operation Prosperity Guardian”.
6/ The Spanish Foreign Secretary, Albares, was saying as late as yesterday morning that a decision still hadn’t been made at the European level.
7/ And by yesterday morning, even far-left Deputy PM Yolanda Díaz (Sumar) was on the radio defending participation in the mission: “Spain must take part in all the procedures in which international law is respected”.
8/ El Confidencial reported last night, though, that there had been ANOTHER change and that Spain HAD VETOED any European Union participation in the mission. Blocked, u-turned, after, in theory, a unanimous decision had been taken for EU participaion via Operation Atlanta.
9/ The report further says that the sudden Spanish u-turn was rushed through straight from the PM’s office, was not explained to European partners, and means the Operation Atlanta mandate cannot be modified. The other 26 countries think it’s a good idea.
10/ Will that be Spain’s defintive position on the matter or will there be ANOTHER u-turn or twist, today or over Christmas? Is Spain in or out?
Stay tuned to find out: