In an interview with RTVE, the former chief executive stressed that in the face of ultra-conservative currents and the leadership of Donald Trump in the United States, the European Union (EU) has a lot to say and must become the international political counterweight.

When there is a president (Trump) who talks about taking over countries and territories, imposing exorbitant tariffs or making agreements behind the back of the rest of the world, the EU must feel obliged to play a relevant role, Zapatero said.

He said that one way or another, in the midst of the current tensions, the community bloc will have to think about how to design its future relationship with Vladimir Putin’s Russia, in the sense that it has hopes for the end of the war with Ukraine.

However, he stressed that prudence is the wisest thing to do at the moment in view of the possibility of sending European troops to Ukraine, and he took the opportunity to point out NATO’s failures in missions with troops in other countries, such as the specific case of Afghanistan.

“I am very critical of NATO, especially in the last phase, and Afghanistan should have given rise to reflection,” explained the member of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), who reviewed the recent history of NATO and its lack of self-criticism.

On domestic issues, in an exclusive interview with the program La Hora de la Uno, he expressed his support for the agreement between the PSOE and the pro-independence party Junts por Cataluña, to give the authorities of that region migration competences.

In this sense, he applauded the fact that in the future cooperation at the border between the National Police, the Guardia Civil and the Mossos d’Esquadra will be consolidated.

Likewise, he referred to the convenience of giving space to a minority language such as Catalan, without this meaning a detriment to the Spanish language.

“Of course it is an element that is taken into account, mainly for rootedness, for a person to be integrated, as well as their respect for constitutional values,” he argued, referring also to two other co-official languages of Spain, Galician and Basque.

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