Zapatero: Spanje moet aansluiten bij Frans-Duitse motor (en)

Spanish premier Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has said that he believes his country should be alongside France and Germany as the "decisive countries for the European construction".

In an interview with French daily Le Monde, Mr Zapatero - who recently celebrated his first 100 days at the head of his Socialist government - said, "France and Germany are the two decisive countries for the European construction and Spain should be there".

Spanish government sources have said that Spain, France and Germany will hold an informal summit meeting after the summer break.

"The European Union will not move forward just by virtue of the big countries or the little countries, but because of ideas, initiatives and proposals," he added.

Furthermore, Mr Zapatero believes that Spain has re-joined the European family after the departure of his predecessor Jose Maria Aznar, who had, according to Mr Zapatero, "one foot in Europe ... and one outside to slow it down".

However, he notes that more effort is required after the enlargement of the EU.

He hails the achievement of Europe that "25 countries, 20 languages, 450 million citizens with very different people and cultures ... whose only dialogue for a century was war, are today able to sit round the same table and adopt a Constitution, give up a part of their sovereignty and unite their economies".

But he adds that "with ten additional countries, you need to pedal harder to make the bike go faster, especially in the field of a common international policy".

Ample support for Constitution

The Premier is confident that the Spanish people will vote for the European Constitution, saying, "The Spanish are convinced that Spain has the weight it deserves because, in a Europe of 25, the percentages and alliances will be different. There will be ample support for the Constitution".

Despite this, he hints that the language of the text could be revised to make it simpler to understand.

"We will need a large translation effort, because the public language of the EU is far removed from good literature", he notes.

"We should have given it to two excellent authors before producing the final version. The European Union is built on a language to which no-one feels accountable".