A Spanish PP deputy, former advisor to Aznar, was the only one who voted against the new regulation of trans-European networks (which includes the Mediterranean corridor) in the Transport and Tourism Commission of the European Parliament. The document from this commission, to which this newspaper has had access, was later submitted to the plenary session of the European Parliament. But the curious thing is that of the 35 MEPs who are part of this commission, the only one who voted against was the Spanish Pablo Arias Echevarría, while ten other members of the EPP voted in favor and one abstained. The vote took place on February 14 under the presidency of the French environmentalist Karima Delli.
As already published, the proposal was subsequently advanced in the plenary session of the European Parliament on April 24 with 565 votes in favor, 37 against and 29 abstentions. Of the 37 votes against, 14 were votes from Spanish parliamentarians from the European People’s Party, and MEPs from Vox, Podemos and Izquierda Unida also voted against. The Spanish PP justified its vote against because the final agreement did not include a series of transport infrastructures that the popular Spanish delegation considered essential for the structuring of Spanish territory.
The Spanish PP group considered that it could not vote in favor of the Transport Commission’s proposal because it did not include the Granada – Motril section or the Santiago – Vigo – Ourense rail freight section. However, this agreement was fundamental for the Mediterranean corridor and the Atlantic corridor. In the case of the Mediterranean, the text includes connections from the Alicante airport or the port of Castelló as priority.
In the Transport and Tourism Committee, the issues that will subsequently be taken to the plenary session of the European Parliament are debated and voted on. This is what happened with the new Regulation for Trans-European Transport networks. But in that commission, the only vote against was that of MEP Pablo Arias Echevarría.
According to what appears published on the internet, from 2000 to 2002 he was an assistant to Alejandro Agag, son-in-law of José María Aznar, who was serving as Secretary General of the Christian Democratic International in Brussels at that time. In 2002, Arias worked as Aznar’s assistant. After the 2004 general elections, in which Aznar ceased to be Spanish president, Arias remained his head of office. He is currently a member of the European Parliament for the Spanish PP.
It is the case that Aznar was the great opponent in Europe to the development of the Mediterranean corridor. In 2002, he forced the transport commissioner, the Spanish Loyola de Palacio, to remove the Mediterranean corridor from the trans-European networks program. Years later it was incorporated, but the delay had very negative effects on the development of an infrastructure that is now being implemented.
