Madrid has become, for a day, the capital of the European Union. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and some twenty European commissioners traveled to Madrid today to commemorate the beginning of the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union with the traditional bilateral meeting with the President of the Government of the country who assumes responsibility, Pedro Sánchez, and their respective teams. Despite the complicated national political context, Von der Leyen has declared herself convinced that the Spanish presidency will be a success and has bet that the “centrist parties” are capable of offering alternatives and solutions to the promises of “right-wing extremism and leftist”.
“Regardless of the outcome of the elections, I am confident that the Spanish government and the institutions will be able to carry out an effective presidency,” Von der Leyen confided at a press conference with Pedro Sánchez at the end of the meetings, held in the brand new Gallery of Royal Collections. “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 with the King of Spain at the Royal Palace. Sánchez, for his part, has not ignored the current political context either and has 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 here to december
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 parties, the Prime Minister has evaded answering a question about the rise of extremist parties in Europe, since it has a “national derivative”. “We are at a press conference on a bilateral meeting between the European Commission and the Government of Spain, and there will be an opportunity to talk about it in other press conferences,” Sánchez argued. Von der Leyen, however, has not wanted to evade the issue and has offered to share a “reflection” on the subject.
“In a changing world, it is crucial that we give citizens confidence and peace of mind, that must be the hallmark. If you look at the extremists, whether they are on the right or the left, they look back and are afraid of change, of all change. 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”, said Von der Leyen, who in recent months has seen the auction of the ambitious green agenda launched under his leadership in jeopardy during this legislature by the far-right opposition and part of the European People’s Party, which is paradoxically the political family to which the German belongs.
“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”, because thanks to technology and innovation “it is possible to grow while cutting emissions ” and “have prosperity while taking care of the environment”. Also the war in Russia “is a fact”, Von der Leyen has continued. “As democrats, we must show that we will defend international legality and reinforce the principles of the United Nations charter of sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The migration pact, the last pending measures of the green agenda, the reform of fiscal rules and the new common budget, which includes the 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.
The last meeting of the European Council in Brussels has shown, however, the difficulty of sealing the migration and asylum pact, which is one of Pedro Sánchez’s priorities for this semester of the Spanish presidency of the EU, given the discrepancies within the club community and the immovable position of countries like Poland and Hungary. But the Spanish president has assured, together with Ursula von der Leyen, that there is a “real option of being able to close the migration and asylum pact” during the semester that is now starting, with a qualified majority and even without the unanimity of all the member states.
“It would also be very important for Spain and even symbolic,” Sánchez stressed. Thus, he has argued that Spain, as the country of first entry for irregular migration as it is the southern border of the EU, has suffered migration crises for many years. But right now the western Mediterranean route is precisely the one with the lowest record of migratory flows. “And that also values ??the immigration policy that we have implemented”, highlighted the President of the Government.
A migration policy, in which he has defended the balance between the control and security of European borders and collaboration and cooperation with the countries of origin and transit of migration, which he has proposed to serve as “inspiration” for the set of The EU. Spain has signed specific agreements in this regard with Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal.
That it be under the Spanish presidency of the EU when this migration and asylum agreement is signed is thus one of Sánchez’s main bets for this European semester.
