A consistent strategy

There can be no foreign presence if there is no consistent policy. And there can be no doubt that Spanish foreign policy is in need of a thorough overhaul — as recommended in the very title of a document prepared by the Elcano Royal Institute think-tank, with the aid of two hundred experts from various branches of the administration, political parties and economic and academic sectors, both public and private.

Inter-party consensus on foreign policy, indispensable in preserving strategic continuity, has fallen apart in the last decade. This has been aggravated by the economic crisis, which has eroded general confidence on what ought to be the overall plan as regards the EU and Spain’s role in it. The report presented on Monday by two former foreign ministers, Marcelino Oreja and Javier Solana, and by the present holder of the post, José Manuel García-Margallo, features a change of methods that ought to serve as inspiration. It proposes ideas, many of them practical, to bring back consensus in a spirit of search for a minimum common denominator aimed at including everyone. The objective is the preparation of a Foreign Action Strategy, under the terms of the Foreign Service Law now in passage through the Senate. All this is a novelty in Spain, which has not normally had a strategy of this type, or a document such as the Elcano report to serve as a guide for its preparation.

A good foreign policy is, to start with, one that does not alter in its main lines with each change of government. This is the challenge now facing the Foreign Ministry.

A good foreign policy is one that does not alter in its main lines with each change of government

Notable among the ideas proposed in the report are the concept of “intelligent Europeanism;” the new bilateral and multilateral approach to Latin America, and especially Brazil; the emphasis on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the EU and United States, and particular mention of China. There are recommendations that are perfectly in line with immediate needs — with European elections just around the corner — such as paying greater attention to the quality of our representatives in Brussels, and of better integration of parliament and all the other institutions, including the regional governments, in the definition of our foreign and EU positions. And on decisions that affect the Spanish position on international justice, such as the recommendation for a more explicit defense of democracy and human rights throughout the world.

The job done by the Elcano Institute is not just an academic one; it answers to a pressing need for an active Spanish presence in the interests of the citizens, companies and institutions of Spain. Spain has lost leverage in the European and international arena since the crisis began, and it is time it began to recover lost ground. This is a path on which it cannot even set out without a clear plan, and much less so in a climate of polarization and sectarian party policy.