“In a changing world, it is crucial that we give citizens confidence and peace of mind, that must be our hallmark,” the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, warned yesterday in Madrid. “Extremists, whether they are left or right, look back and are afraid of change, of all change,” she warned. “We, the political forces of the center, must show that we are clear about how we want to respond to the changes that are taking place,” prescribed German popular politics.
Von der Leyen has been endangering in recent months the auction of the ambitious green agenda launched under his leadership this legislature, by the far-right opposition and by the European People’s Party, which is paradoxically the political family to which he belongs, and He did not hesitate to defend the hallmarks of Europe against right-wing and left-wing extremism at a press conference together with the head of the Spanish Executive, Pedro Sánchez, and before all the members of the coalition government. Also, therefore, Vice President Yolanda Díaz and the ministers of United We Can.
Thus culminated the first major act of the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union: the meeting of the College of Commissioners with the Spanish Government, to order all pending work, in the brand new Royal Collections Gallery, recently inaugurated next to the Royal Palace and the Almudena Cathedral in Madrid, which became the capital of the European Union for one day.
Despite the complicated political and electoral context in Spain, in which Sánchez is at stake for re-election, Von der Leyen was convinced that the Spanish presidency will be a success. “Regardless of the outcome of the elections, I am confident that the Spanish government and the institutions will be able to deliver an effective presidency,” she confided. “I have full confidence in the deep European spirit of the Spanish,” Von der Leyen stressed before crossing the Plaza de la Armería to meet the King in the Royal Palace.
Sánchez, for his part, did not ignore the political context either and assured that Spain “is going to fulfill its duty” during this semester and will act as “an impartial intermediary” in the EU to try to close as many agreements as possible between now and December. . The Spanish presidency, he recalled, will be the last one that will last six months before the dissolution of the European Parliament in April to hold elections, hence the importance of moving forward with as many decisions as possible.
Aware that every gesture, every decision and every statement as a representative of the EU between now and July 23 will be scrutinized by the opposition, Sánchez evaded answering a question about the rise of extremist parties in Europe, since he has a “national derivative”. Von der Leyen, on the other hand, did not want to ignore the issue and defended that the “center parties” are capable of offering alternatives to the promises of “right and left extremism.”
“Climate change is a fact, and we have an idea and a vision on how to face it, how to respond to the difficulties, but also how to take advantage of the opportunities it offers,” he argued, because thanks to technology and innovation “it is possible to grow while cutting emissions” and “be prosperous while taking care of the environment”. Also the war in Russia “is a fact”, continued Von der Leyen. “And as democrats – he defended – we must show that we are going to defend international law and reinforce the principles of the United Nations charter” on Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty.
The migration pact, the green agenda, the reform of fiscal rules and the new common budget, which includes a guarantee of budgetary support for Ukraine for the next four years, are some of the priority dossiers of the Spanish presidency and the Commission for this semester. Von der Leyen and Sánchez have overlapping interests in many dossiers. Spain longs for an agreement with a new balance between solidarity and responsibility. For the German conservative, an agreement on the migration pact would be a major achievement, since the migration wave of 2015, when the opening of Germany’s borders and the attempt to impose quotas for the reception of immigrants opened a serious breach with the countries of the East , the EU has not been able to agree on any measure on migration policy.
Von der Leyen also needs the Spanish presidency to reach an agreement on his proposal to increase the community budget by 50,000 million euros to deal with the needs created by the war in Ukraine and the plans to close strategic agreements with countries in North Africa. that can help “manage” immigration. European leaders have not yet discussed the proposal, which would shield macro-financial assistance to Kyiv for four years, but domestic reactions have been cool to date.
Sánchez reiterated yesterday that Spain will do everything possible to reach an agreement.
