Jorge Buxadé Villalba has been a member of the European Parliament since 2 July 2019, elected as a candidate of the Spanish national conservative Vox party, which is aligned with the European Conservatives and Reformists group in the EP. He granted the below interview in Madrid.
In your first speech at CPAC Hungary in 2022 you spoke of a ‘conservative and patriotic renaissance’ brewing across Europe. What progress have you felt, over the past two years, in what our Center calls the ‘international cooperation of patriotic forces’? What impact do you believe CPAC 2024 can make to that effort next week?
The gains of the conservative and patriotic renaissance are clear. We are making unthinkable progress. We are advancing in Italy, Hungary, France, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the Czech Republic. Indeed, we are making strides in many countries, I would say in all countries. What’s happening in Europe is truly remarkable. We’re not only on the verge of taking over governments, but we are also dominating the debate. Just ten years ago, nobody spoke of illegal immigration. There was rampant illegal immigration and significant insecurity, yet no one challenged this phenomenon. No one dared to question the migratory invasion that Europe is facing, and now, addressing this issue has become the most natural thing. We have made considerable progress in this area. Every day, the public becomes more aware of the issues posed by illegal immigration. Daily, they are becoming more cognizant of the importance of border security and national sovereignty. Without borders, there is neither nation nor European Union.
The public is increasingly aware of this. We have made incredible advancements. Five years ago, nobody thought that the patriotic and conservative forces would be contending for the first or second place in the European Parliament. If we stand united in a coordinated strategy and action, our political influence on Brussels’ decisions will completely change the actions of the centralist bureaucracy. This was unimaginable a few years ago. And the proof is in the anxiety this is causing among the current major groups. They are on edge! Of course, CPAC 2024 is hugely significant in this respect. Similarly, the VIVA 2024 event we are hosting in Madrid on the 18th and 19th of May is also pivotal, and everyone is invited, by the way. It’s crucial to have these meetings, and we will continue to hold them.
Many expect an upsurge of the anti-establishment right on 9 June, with Vox being one of the parties expected to grow the most proportionally to its size in the current European Parliament. What kind of mindset do you think like-minded conservatives and patriots should have as they ready to take over Brussels?
European patriots and conservatives must continue to fight tirelessly. We cannot afford distractions or believe that the enemy will surrender. The enemy will never surrender; too much is at stake, and they have invested significant amounts of money and energy to abandon their agenda of destruction and devastation. They handle vast amounts of money, sums beyond our wildest dreams. Therefore, it is crucial not to be complacent and remember that they are willing to do anything to remove us from the playing field. They are prepared to censor us, outlaw us, arrest us, and imprison us. Such measures are already being debated in some countries. They are trying to normalize these discussions, but the public isn’t fooled and rejects their narrative. The more anger and desperation they show, the more everyone realizes the nature of the enemy we face. With that said, we must understand that this is a long-term battle. Winning elections is not enough, nor is making significant gains on 9 June. While these are important, it is even more crucial to use that strength to effect change. We must use the power granted by the citizens to make changes, because that is what the citizens want. They do not entrust us with their vote merely to inherit power, as some political groups, posing as conservatives but then pushing the same ideological agenda as the left, seem to think. Of course, I am referring to the European People’s Party and to Von der Leyen. The citizens vote for us to make a difference, people vote for us to reclaim truth, beauty, and justice, and that is exactly what we must deliver to them. In this regard, I can assure you that Ursula Von der Leyen will not be president of the European Commission with our vote. We hope and trust that she won’t be, depending on the strength we gather on 9 June, but I guarantee that Von der Leyen will not become president with the vote of Vox after what she has done over these past five years.
You began your 2022 speech at CPAC in the language in which Christianity spread worldwide—Spanish. In this year’s CPAC Hungary, the Iberosphere’s right will play a key role, with speakers such as Santiago Abascal, José Antonio Kast, María Fernanda Cabal, and yourself, on the heels of the launch of our Center’s new office in Madrid. What do you think the Iberosphere can contribute to an event like CPAC, and to the international cooperation of patriotic forces? What about vice-versa?
The Iberosphere is a crucial player in the fight against what we know as globalism. The countries of the Iberosphere are intimately familiar with the harms of the globalist ideology that is eroding the West because they have experienced it firsthand. Cuba has been under the boot of socialism for 70 years. Venezuela has been suffering the scourge of communism for over two decades. Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, all are threatened by socialism and communism. In Argentina, things are beginning to change now, with our good friend Javier Milei, who swept the presidential elections and knows exactly what we are up against. It is extremely important to forge alliances with Ibero-America, and at Vox and within the ECR group, we have spent the last five years building strong alliances with them: through our foundation Disenso, led by Santiago Abascal, and also from the European Parliament with my dear colleague Hermann Tertsch, we have launched the group Foro de Madrid—with its letter that has been signed by dozens of leaders, personalities, and public representatives from around the world—and the ECR Eurolat policy group. The Iberosphere is a fundamental actor in this struggle; we share a lot with them. They are our brothers. We share very strong cultural and religious roots. They know better than anyone the dangers posed by globalism and wokism, which are imported phenomena that have nothing to do with our common culture. It is our duty to strengthen that alliance on both sides, and that is what we are doing.
You are a stalwart opponent of illegal migration. On Wednesday last week, the European Parliament approved the Buxadé Report, a milestone in this area. Do you think this EU election could change the reigning mindset in Brussels around this challenge?
Illegal immigration is perhaps the biggest issue the European Union is dealing with right now. Europe is facing a real migration crisis, which we at Vox speak out about every day. A recent study in Sweden showed Vox as the third most proactive party in fighting illegal immigration in the European Parliament, a recognition that I find particularly gratifying. Just last week, the Parliament passed a reform of the Eurodac database, which you refer to as the Buxadé Report. We’ve been working on this reform for years, and its approval was a major win. This wasn’t just a personal victory but a crucial step in helping fight illegal immigration. The reform will allow us to finally identify illegal immigrants and give member states access to a full, updated database of illegal immigrants across Europe. This includes not just fingerprints but also photos and travel documents, helping to prevent a lot of problems like fraud and improving security to potentially stop the terrible attacks we’ve seen in Europe recently. But this is just the beginning. The Asylum and Immigration Pact that was approved last week is far from enough. We need to tackle the issues of deporting people and making agreements with other countries to stop sending us illegal immigrants. We also need to deal with the issue of immigrants settling in after living here for a few years, where they can then get residency or citizenship and bring over their whole family. These important issues weren’t covered in the Pact approved last week. The left doesn’t seem to want to deal with these problems. But we’re ready to take them on in the next term, and keep fighting the problem of illegal immigration. The migration emergency is definitely not solved by this Asylum and Immigration Pact. We’re here to put an end to this crisis, just as the citizens expect us to.
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