Pool Reports of May 12, 2023

In Town Pool #1 | Brunch Lid until 12:30 p.m.

Good Morning Everyone,

I'm pooling today on this summer-esque day in Washington. It's a big one for the pool: no covid test today, per the now-effective new guidance. Copying the president's schedule below.

Ping me if you have any questions!

10:00 AM In-Town Pool Call Time

10:00 AM THE PRESIDENT receives the Presidential Daily Briefing
Closed Press

2:00 PM THE PRESIDENT holds a bilateral meeting with President Pedro Sanchez of the Government of Spain
Oval Office
In-House Pool Spray (Gather 1:50 PM – Brady Press Briefing Room)

Briefing Schedule

1:00 PM Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator Mitch Landrieu

In Town Pool #2 | Briefing Starts

KJP, joined by Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator Mitch Landrieu, began the briefing at 1:27 p.m.

We'll be scooting to the Oval shortly – 1:50 p.m. gather shortly, per the current sked – to see the president and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, head of the PSOE, Spain's center-left party. He leads a thin coalition in the Spanish parliament, supported by further left and regional parties. He's also a former basketball player and an avid runner.

In Town Pool #3 | Gather

The pool exited the briefing at 1:57 pm. We’re now waiting at the Palm Room Doors.

In Town Pool #4 | Bilat Starts

The bilat with President Biden and PM Sanchez began at 2:11 p.m.

In Town Pool #5 | End and no questions

The remarks ended at 2:17 pm.

The POTUS wore a navy suit with weathered brown shoes and socks decorated with flags.

PM Sanchez, also in a blue suit and with a green tie, opened with comments on democracy in America and his bewilderment that it was ever under threat. He then mentioned the war in Ukraine, blaming Putin for a war of aggression. He too mentioned relations with Latin America.

The two laughed as the pool shouted questions to no response and we were escorted out.

In Town Pool #6 | Details on Bilat

From the WH:

The President is holding a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office with President Pedro Sanchez of the Government of Spain.

U.S. Delegation
The President
T.H. Antony Blinken, Secretary of State
T.H. Jake Sullivan, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
T.H. Julissa Reynoso, Ambassador of the United States to Spain and Andorra
T.H. Chris Dodd, Special Presidential Advisor for the Americas
T.H. Amanda Sloat, Special Assistant to the President & Senior Director for Europe, National Security Council
Mr. Andrew Johnson, Director for European Union Affairs, National Security Council

Spanish Delegation
His Excellency Pedro Sanchez, President of the Government of Spain
H.E. José Manuel Alabres, Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation
H.E. Santiago Cabanas, Ambassador of Spain to the United States
Mr. Francesc Vallès, Secretary of State for Communication
Mr. Manuel de la Rocha, Chief of the Economic and G20 Office
Ms. Emma Aparici, Director General Department of Foreign Affairs
Ms. Carmen Pérez, Director for International Communication

In Town Pool #7 | Sanchez Appearance and Wrap

PM Sanchez came to the stakeout at 3:30 pm. He spoke softly at first, and in Spanish. So it was incredibly difficult to understand him – especially with the many police caravans of late sounding in the background.

He took questions, also only in Spanish, and wrapped at 3:49 pm., stepping out of the hot sun.

Look out for a translation later from my colleagues in the foreign pool.

In Town Pool #8 | Lid called at 3:59 p.m.

That's all folks. Enjoy the weekend!

Foreign Pool Report #1 - Background Ahead of Meeting with Spain's Prime Minister

¡Hola a todos!

I will be your foreign pooler for the bilateral meeting between US President Joe Biden and the President of the Government of Spain (or Prime Minister) Pedro Sánchez. The meeting is scheduled for 2:00 pm. Sanchez will make a stop at the stakeout after the meeting.

Meetings/calls:
Today's bilateral meeting marks the first time in six years that a Spanish Prime Minister has visited the White House to meet a U.S. President. The last meeting at the White House between the leaders of both countries took place in September 2017 when then-President Trump and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of Spain met.

Sanchez, who assumed office in 2018, had a bilateral meeting with Biden in June 2022, on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid. They signed a joint declaration to reinforce the bilateral relationship. This marked the first time in 20 years that leaders of the United States and Spain had signed such a declaration.

Biden and Sanchez have also participated together in several international summits, including the G20 summit in Bali in November 2022 and the UN General Assembly in September 2022. Their first in-person meeting took place at the NATO summit in Brussels in June 2021, although it was a brief encounter in the hallways.

Additionally, they have had two phone conversations: one in June 2022 before the NATO summit in Madrid and another in August 2021 during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, as Spain had committed troops as a NATO member.

Schedule:
Sánchez arrived at Joint Base Andrews on Thursday afternoon. Later that evening, he attended an event at the residence of the Spanish ambassador in Washington, where he presented the Grand Cross of Isabella the Catholic to former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.

This morning, Sánchez had a private meeting with the Editorial Board of The Washington Post.

After the meeting with Biden, Sanchez will return to Spain. Sánchez, who is the Secretary General of the progressive Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), plans to participate in an electoral event in Seville on Saturday.

The bilateral meeting with Biden coincides with the official launch of the campaign for the municipal and regional elections that Spain will hold on May 28th. These elections will serve as an indicator of support for the main political parties leading up to the general election scheduled for December.

Priorities for the bilat:
The Spanish government has expressed its clear intention to use the bilateral meeting as an opportunity to strengthen the relationship with the United States and cover a wide range of topics.

At the top of the agenda is the war in Ukraine. Sanchez intends to discuss his impressions after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on March 31st and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Madrid on April 26th. Spain shares the United States' desire for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. As an European Union (EU) member, Spain has imposed sanctions on Russia and provided military equipment to Ukraine, including Leopard tanks. Additionally, Spain has welcomed 175,000 Ukrainian refugees. Spain will assume the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU in July.

According to Spanish officials, Sanchez plans to ask Biden to work together to find a solution to eliminate the US tariffs on Spanish black olives. In 2018, the Trump Administration imposed a 35% tariff on imported olives, claiming that EU subsidies given to Spanish olive producers unfairly disadvantaged their American counterparts. This resulted in a legal dispute. In 2021, a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel determined that the countervailing duties imposed on Spanish olive imports violated WTO regulations. Although the U.S. government has made certain adjustments, a 31% tariff on black olives still remains.

Another topic of discussion will be the remediation of soil contaminated with radioactivity resulting from a mid-air collision that occurred almost 60 years ago near the southern Spanish village of Palomares. During the incident, four U.S. hydrogen bombs were accidentally dropped. Although none of them exploded, the detonators on two bombs containing plutonium were triggered, dispersing several pounds of highly radioactive plutonium. Approximately 50,000 cubic meters (1.76 million cubic feet) of land across 44 plots were affected. In 2015, the U.S. and Spain signed a statement of intent to negotiate a binding agreement for the further restoration and cleanup of the Palomares site, as well as the disposal of the contaminated soil in a secure area in the desert near Las Vegas, Nevada. While a final agreement has not yet been reached, discussions between the United States and Spain to resolve the issue have intensified in recent months.

Another important topic will be migration. According to White House national security council spokesperson John Kirby, Biden will thank Sánchez for Spain's recent commitment to collaborate with the U.S. to expand safe, humane, and regular migration pathways for individuals from Latin America. In April, Spain, Canada, and the United States announced an agreement to collaborate on providing legal pathways for migrants in Latin America. As part of this agreement, Spain and Canada have committed to accepting migrants from the processing centers that the U.S. plans to establish in Colombia and Guatemala.

Other topics for the bilateral meeting include climate change, with Spain facing the possibility of increased droughts. Moreover, according to Kirby, Sánchez and Biden will also discuss deepening cooperation on science and space, including Spain's decision to join the Artemis Accords. Lastly, the two leaders will discuss the recent agreement allowing the United States to increase the number of destroyers stationed at the U.S. naval station in Rota, southern Spain, from four to six.

Delegation joining Sanchez at the White House, per the Spanish Presidency:
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares
Secretary General of the Department of Economic Affairs and G20 in the Cabinet of the Presidency of the Government of Spain, Manuel de la Rocha
Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet of the Presidency of the Government, Emma Aparici

Secretary of State for Communication, Francesc Vallès

Director General of the Department of International Information of the Presidency of the Government, Carmen Pérez

Bio:
Sánchez, aged 51, has been the Prime Minister of Spain since June 2018. He assumed office after a successful no-confidence vote in the Congress of Deputies against the then-Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy. In 2019, Spain held general elections twice: once in April and again in November, as it was not possible to form a government after the first round.

Following the November elections, Sánchez secured his position as Prime Minister and formed a coalition government between his party, PSOE, and the left-wing party Podemos. This marked the first multi-party cabinet in Spain's democratic era.

Sánchez also serves as the General Secretary of the PSOE. He previously held the position from 2014 to 2016 but resigned during an internal party crisis. In 2017, he won the primaries and once again became the party's leader, eventually becoming the Prime Minister.

As a curiosity, Sánchez is 6'3" tall, and in his younger years, he was a member of the Estudiantes basketball squad.

He holds a PhD in Economics from Camilo José Cela University, where he also worked as a lecturer in economics. Prior to becoming a university lecturer, he served as an adviser at the European Parliament and was a member of the cabinet office of the United Nations High Representative for Bosnia Herzegovina.

Foreign Pool Report #2 – POTUS bilat with Sanchez of Spain

When the pool entered, POTUS and Sanchez were seated next to each other. They shook hands at the end.

Sanchez said: "We share common values and our bilateral relations are excelent, we are allies, friends."

Sanchez said topics of discussion will be war in Ukraine, climate change, artificial intelligence, the upcoming presidency of Spain of the European Council in the EU and particularly promoting in that capacity the relations with Latin America.

Neither president responded to shouted questions.

Check quotes against the transcript. I will send fuller quotes momentarily.

Foreign Pool Report #3 – Fuller Quotes Sanchez

Here are fuller quotes.

Sanchez started with a mention of defense of democracy. "I see you as a reference in the defense of democracy, as many citizens around the world would have never imagined that democracy would be under threat precisely here in Washington, in the United States"

He said " bilateral relations are excellent" "I do believe that Spain and the United States share common values and our bilateral relations are excellent. We are allies, friends, and also strategic partners".

Sanchez said that he wanted to touch on four topics that will be on the top of the agenda.

First, the war in Ukraine. He mentioned the "transatlantic bond" that unites Spain and the United States. "Of course, we are working for a lasting and just peace that respects fully the international law and also the principles of the UN chapter." "Make no mistake, in this war, there is an aggressor and a victim, and the aggressor is President Putin."

The second topic is how the US and Spain can work together for the "benefit of our middle and working classes." In this regard, he asked Biden to work together to have a successful COP28 and work together with the European Union, in order to regulate artificial intelligence and reach the highest level of standards at the global level.

Third, working together as Spain assumes the Presidency of the Council of the EU in July. "We are very ambitious, we have many goals. But I would like to highlight two which I think would be very important in the second semester of the year.The first one is how to get the industrialization of the European Union together with the US economy, and how we do as Europeans to strengthen our bilateral cooperation with Latin America, which is part of the world region where Spain and the US we have common interests"

Fourth, bilateral relations, sciente, trade and investment. Sanchez said they are going to to sign agreements to work together to boost gender equality, LGTB rights, and climate change, to name a few.

Lastly, and what it seemed a reference to 2024, "President Biden, I do believe that the world needs a US president that is committed to fighting the good fight, like you do, and you can count on us, so let's keep on doing this"

Foreign Pool Report #4 – Sanchez going to the sticks

Sanchez going to the sticks now. He will talk momentarily

You can follow online in the Spanish government website

https://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/Paginas/index.aspx

Foreign Pool Report #5 – Sanches quotes at the stakeout

Sanchez talked in Spanish at the stakeout.

He was asked about how he sees Biden. "I have seen him in good shape. I have seen him eager, determined, and strong in tackling all the tasks ahead of him as the President of the United States", he said. Furthermore, he took the opportunity to praise Biden, saying that he is "an example in the defense of democratic values." After recalling the attack on the Capitol on January 6th 2021, Sanchez emphasized president Biden's "firm and unequivocal" commitment to defend democracy.

About the incident of Palomares, Sánchez said that has reached an agreement with Biden so technical teams of both countries can meet soon to work on a solution. He said that would be part of the statement at the end of the meeting (it is not clear if he was referring to a joint statement or a statement only from the Spanish government)

"Regarding Palomares, there has clearly been progress, and you will see it in the summary of the bilateral meeting. We have agreed to demonstrate our willingness to solve this problem and have instructed the technical teams to meet as soon as possible to finally be able to extract this contaminated soil and remove it from Spain. Therefore, the technical teams have already been convened to begin this work so that we can definitively resolve this issue."

Now, regarding tariffs on black olives, Sanchez defined the issue as "a point of friction" in what he described as "excellent" relations with the United States. "Regarding black olives, I have found receptiveness from the Biden Administration. It is important to remember that this is an issue that is in the World Trade Organization, and the World Trade Organization has been clear. I have found receptiveness from the Biden Administration to resolve this matter."

He also talked about Ukraine, the immigration agreement with the United States and the Presidency of Spain in the Council of the EU, but no news there.