The Spanish prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, has promised to work, within a Europe capable of coming out of the economic crisis, towards ‘a new model of balanced and sustainable growth’, taking social and environmental interests into account.

It is one of the aims with which Spain will assume the Presidency of the European Union (EU), Zapatero explained to the parliament in Madrid two weeks before the beginning of the Spanish semester.

Spain has four priorities: the fast and full application of the Treaty of Lisbon; economic recovery and the creation of high-quality employment; consolidating Europe as a responsible and supportive global player; and developing policies for the people of the 21st century.

The prime minister emphasised that the challenge of consolidating economic recovery combines the aims of returning to the path of job creation and of making progress with regard to the sustainability of the public finances.

In his opinion, a premature withdrawal of the measures to support the financial sector and to stimulate demand must be avoided.

The Stability and Growth Pact will also have to be promoted, along with implementing the necessary processes of fiscal consolidation, and reforming the mechanisms for supervising the financial system.
With regard to the Treaty of Lisbon, which comes into full effect as Spain assumes the Presidency, Zapatero said that Spain would ‘lend its complete support’ and work ‘in complete coordination’ with the new top-level posts: the permanent president and the high representative.

The rotating Presidency will work with them to set the agenda and draw up the conclusions of the European Council, to ensure the smooth running of the summits with third countries and implement new diplomatic network of the new European External Service.

Furthermore, Spain will seek the necessary consensus to ‘strengthen the solidarity clause’ which states that member states will provide each other with mutual assistance in case of a terrorist attack or a natural or manmade disaster.
With the aim of achieving a ‘global, responsible and supportive’ foreign policy, Spain will promote the strengthening of the transatlantic dialogue with the USA, a ‘qualitative leap’ in the relationship with Latin America and the Caribbean and the development of a strategic dialogue with Russia.
Similarly, Spain intends to intensify accession negotiations with Croatia, while seeking to ‘maintain an appropriate pace’ with Turkey, another candidate country.

The fourth main aim of the Spanish Presidency of the EU is to bring the Union closer to the people and increase its participation in Community life, by setting in motion the European popular legislative initiative (for which a million signatures will be necessary) and by the EU signing up to the European Convention on Human Rights

In this respect, Spain is also going to give impetus to the fight against gender-based violence and will push for the setting up of a European monitoring centre and a European protection order, said Zapatero.
In the coming months, the Spanish Presidency’s initiatives will be enriched by the analysis and proposals of the think tank, chaired by Felipe González, which,’ as Zapatero pointed out, ‘has to present its conclusions with regard to the period 2020-2030 in the next six months.

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