The German Government signs new agreements with Algeria in the midst of a clash between this country and the Spanish Government. The number two of the German Foreign Ministry, Katja Keul, traveled to Algiers on Monday to sign new cooperation agreements and even talk about “the consolidation of the Association between Algeria and the European Union,” according to a statement from the Algerian Foreign Ministry. . This agreement is precisely the one that the Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, considers has been violated by the banking blockade of trade. The High Representative for Foreign Policy of the EU, Josep Borrell, also argued last Friday that he may have been violated.
Senior German official Keul, a member of the Greens in the government coalition, assures that she has traveled to Algiers, because the Maghreb country “is a key player in resolving regional problems in North and West Africa. Therefore, it is important for me to intensify the political dialogue with Algeria.”
“During my trip I will speak in particular about the political and security situation in the Sahel. With a high-level business delegation, I will also offer the Algerian government even closer cooperation in expanding our energy relations,” he said in an official statement signed last Friday, two days after the commercial blockade against Spain was transcended. Albares requested that same day in Brussels the support of the European Commission. The German considers that there is ground for mutual collaboration in energy. His country seeks alternative gas supply to Russia is building a regasification plant, but it can offer Algeria investment in renewable energies that have not been exploited in the Maghreb country.
Keul attends the Algiers International Fair inaugurated by the Head of State, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, and commemorates the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The good reception given to Kaul by the Algerian foreign minister, Ramtane Lamamra, contrasts with the Spanish government’s version that it is conditioned by Moscow. As the first vice president, Nadia Calviño, has pointed out, the influence of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, is behind Algeria’s commercial blockade of a NATO country like Spain. But Germany and Italy are also important partners in the Atlantic Alliance. The latter country received Tebboune last month on a state visit and has managed, with the war in Ukraine already under way, to get Algeria to increase its gas supply by an amount equivalent to all the gas that Algeria sells to Spain for the sole gas pipeline that keeps open.
For its part, the European Commission maintains that, although it supports the Spanish Government, dialogue must be explored before taking retaliatory measures against Algiers.
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