[JURIST] Spain's Minister of Foreign Affairs Miguel Angel Moratinos [official profile] on Tuesday indicated his country's willingness to accept Guantanamo detainees [JURIST news archive] during his meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton [official profile; BBC profile] in Washington DC. No specific details were set out during the meeting, and Moratinos told Spanish media [El Pais report, in Spanish; Cadena SER radio interview, in Spanish] that the legal implications of each detainee's case will have be considered. Moratinos also stated that Spanish commitment to Afghanistan will continue, but declined to discuss the nature of the nation's future role.

Earlier this month, the European Parliament [official website] voted 542-55, with 51 abstentions, to adopt a resolution [materials; JURIST report] encouraging member states to accept low-risk Guantanamo prisoners who cannot be returned to their country of origin for fear of persecution. In January, EU Secretary General Javier Solana [official profile] stated that accepting such detainees may be conditioned [JURIST report] on the US conducting background checks to ensure that they will not be a danger to the host country.