Spanish Senate visit a reminder of importance of European cooperation
On Tuesday 8 and Wednesday 9 July the British Group Inter-Parliamentary Union welcomed a delegation of Spanish Senators to Westminster for a bilateral visit to the British Parliament. The delegation was led by Senator Javier Maroto Aranzábal, Deputy Speaker of the Senate of Spain and Senators Agustín Almodóbar Barceló, Ana Martínez Zaragoza and Amaro Huelva Betanzos. They were accompanied by Fernando Castillo López, Head of the Legal Advisory Department of the Spanish Congress of Deputies.
Tuesday began with a session to introduce the delegation to the Westminster System and how the UK Parliament functions. This was hosted by Emma Makey, House of Commons, and Susie Latta, House of Lords, both of the Interparliamentary Relations Office. The delegates were curious to learn of the intricacies and quirks of the Westminster System and the session put them in good stead for the rest of the meetings in their programme.
This session was followed by a meeting with the House of Lords European Affairs Committee. The meeting was chaired by the Duke of Wellington and attended by Baroness Ludford and Baroness Suttie. Discussions covered a wide range of topics including Brexit and the need for an EU-UK reset, Defence spending and how Spain and Europe more widely were planning to cooperate with the UK in this area. The issue of Gibraltar was also raised with both sides agreeing that the recently negotiated agreement was beneficial to all and kept arguments about sovereignty out of the discussions.
The morning was concluded with the delegation having the opportunity to meet with Lord Gardiner of Kimble, the Senior Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords. The leader of the delegation once again raised Brexit as something members of the Spanish Parliament were on the whole unhappy about however in this meeting the discussion focused more heavily on procedural differences and similarities between the House of Lords and the Spanish Senate. Next on the programme was a working lunch in Peers’ Dining Room. Baroness Hooper very kindly hosted the delegation for this lunch and it provided an excellent opportunity for some slightly more informal conversations to take place. Each member of the delegation had the opportunity to meet and converse with a number of different MPs and Peers.
After lunch the delegation were escorted by Baroness Hooper up to the gallery of the House of Lords. This provided an opportunity to see the Chamber in action, helping them to better understand and visualise the comparisons with the Spanish Senate that had been discussed earlier with Lord Gardiner. They then made their way to the Ways and Means Conference Room for a meeting with the Chairman of Ways and Means, Nusrat Ghani MP. In the meeting various topics were discussed including the increasing use of AI and a mutual interest in understanding the pit falls but also a need to harness the huge opportunities offered by the use of AI in parliaments.
The plan for the rest of the afternoon had been for a meeting with the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Spain followed by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Hospitality and Tourism. Unfortunately due to the visit of the French President and his addressing Parliament that afternoon the Spain APPG meeting was slightly disrupted. Fortunately, Helen Grant MP was able to attend so her and the delegation were able to have a productive conversation. To close out the day’s formal programme the chair Chris Webb MP and member Bayo Alaba MP of the Hospitality and Tourism APPG met with the delegation. They discussed the strain that tourism can put on local resources and the need to preserve an area’s identity as well as encourage and enable a thriving tourism industry. The British MPs had much to learn from their Spanish counterparts on this issue as tourism plays a significant role in the Spanish economy, particularly in regions that the Senators represent.
Tuesday was concluded with a visit to Apsley House on Hyde Park Corner where the delegation and the Spanish Ambassador were able to meet and have a discussion with the Duke of Wellington, as well as a chance to view the artworks highlighting our long shared history.
Wednesday began with a tour of the Palace Westminster, kindly led by the chair of BGIPU, Fabian Hamilton MP. They then made their way back to the IPU Room for a roundtable meeting with members of the BGIPU, also hosted by Fabian Hamilton MP. The meeting provided a good opportunity to address some of the more contentious global issues of the day. Immigration was extensively discussed alongside how to deal with the ongoing issues with asylum seekers, both sides agreed better cooperation between the UK and Spain would help with this issue. They then discussed the ongoing war in Palestine and the differences in opinions regarding the recognition of a Palestinian State. The morning’s meetings were concluded with a meeting with Wera Hobhouse MP in her capacity as a member of the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee. The problems around the Climate Crisis and how to manage the green energy transition were widely discussed in this meeting. All in attendance agreed on the importance of this issue and the need to act now to avert future problems.
The delegation then had the opportunity to attend Prime Ministers Questions from the Speaker’s Gallery. Afterwards, they returned to the IPU Room for a final working lunch hosted by BGIPU chair, Fabian Hamilton MP. The delegation had numerous questions to ask about Prime Ministers Questions, noting the uniqueness of the back and forth style of debate and general combative environment within the Chamber. The working lunch provided a final opportunity for the delegation to meet more of their counterparts and engage in interesting conversation on common issues.
Ultimately, this bilateral engagement with Spain helped to remind everyone involved of the importance of engaging with their colleagues in the Spanish Parliament. It helped to illustrate the importance of Spain as a European partner and showed everyone that the problems we face are being faced across Europe and as a result engaging and working with partners is essential.
Delegation pictured with the Chairman of Ways and Means, Nusrat Ghani MP
Meeting with the House of Lords European Affairs Committee
Delegation meeting with members of the BGIPU Executive Committee.
Delegation pictured in Apsley House with the Duke of Wellington.
