Pedro Sánchez underlines Spain's commitment and solidarity with the 110,000 refugees arriving from Ukraine: "We are going to give them all the protection and opportunities we can"

Barcelona

Once there, he stressed that we have already welcomed more than 47,000 Ukrainians with temporary protection activated, and that for the estimated total of 110,000 who have arrived in our country, "we are going to give them all the protection and opportunities possible, so that they feel at home".

The Chief Executive, accompanied by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, and the Minister for Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, José Luis Escrivá, toured the facilities and spaces set up for the care, temporary reception and referral of refugees, emphasising that "we are setting an example of collaboration, cooperation and institutional coordination, which echoes the current need for solidarity among all the citizens of Barcelona, Catalonia and Spain with the refugees from Ukraine".

Spain has set up four Reception, Care and Referral Centres. In addition to the one visited this Friday in Barcelona, there are also those in Madrid, Alicante and Malaga. The National War Response Plan foresees an extraordinary appropriation of 1.2 billion euros in 2022 for the reception of refugees from Ukraine, as an advance on the European funds that will finance this response.

The President of the Government of Spain defended peace and expressed his conviction that Ukraine will resist, Europe will prevail and war crimes will not go unpunished. "What is happening in Ukraine is a challenge to all European citizens," he said, because Putin is attacking Europe, trying to weaken the European project, which is based on human rights, democracy, freedom and peace.

Non official translation