Spaanse minister van Buitenlandse Zaken vertelt Europees Parlement welke prioriteiten het voorzitterschap heeft (en)
The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, has appeared before the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs in order to set out the priorities of the Spanish Presidency of the EU.
At the start of his speech, the Spanish minister pointed out that, with the Treaty of Lisbon coming into force, the single spokesperson for the Commission on foreign affairs is now the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton i, but that until the necessary infrastructure is in place for this role, the Spanish Presidency of the EU will provide its full support to ensure the transition goes as smoothly as possible.
He also highlighted the EU's coordinated reaction to the earthquake in Haiti and clarified the new way in which the rotating Presidency works and the new European offices.
In relation to the Spanish Presidency's working programme in the area of Common Foreign and Security Policy, Mr Moratinos spoke of “three major spheres of EU action abroad”:
Enlargement:
Efforts will be made to progress the negotiations with Croatia as far as possible in order to conclude them during this six-month period, or by 2011 at the latest; the objective with Turkey is to keep the negotiation process open and to continue to make progress; in the case of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYRM), the Spanish Presidency will seek an agreement to resolve problems with Greece regarding the name.
The Western Balkans will receive priority attention, with a high-level meeting being held at the end of May to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the Zagreb Summit.
Neighbouring countries:
Work will be done to promote closer relations towards the East and the South. The Eastern Partnership has already met in Madrid in January, and an informal ministerial meeting has been planned during the six-month period of the Spanish Presidency, in Warsaw.
In terms of the Union for the Mediterranean, the Spanish Presidency is working to set up a permanent secretariat in Barcelona and to prepare the summit meeting scheduled for June. It is also working with the High Representative, Ms Ashton, to advance the Middle East peace process. Efforts will also be made to further develop Morocco's “advanced status” and to strengthen relations with Egypt.
Foreign Relations: The Spanish Presidency will promote a strategic partnership with Latin America and the Caribbean, and will seek to develop political dialogue with Mexico and Brazil. The EU-LAC Summit, to be held in Madrid in May, will help to progress regional integration and to revitalise or conclude agreements with Central America, the Andean Community and Mercosur. Work will continue on strengthening transatlantic relations, with a summit meeting to be held with Canada and preparations are being made for a summit with Russia at a key time when progress is needed on energy cooperation. Preparations will also get underway for the Africa-EU Summit, to be held during the term of the Belgian Presidency.
The Spanish Presidency has made a firm commitment to the African continent, with the President of the Spanish Government, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, having travelled there in January. Work will be carried out on consolidating relations with Asia, with a summit meeting to be held with Japan, and another with Pakistan. In the field of security and defence, the Spanish Presidency will support the High Representative in coping with the new challenges arising from the Treaty of Lisbon.
Mr Moratinos later appeared before the Committee on Development, at which he said one of the Spanish Presidency's priorities in this field was to fight the economic crisis in order to mitigate the slowdown, and even the reversal, that this is causing in the progress achieved by developing countries. He said the Spanish Presidency will work to ensure that international commitments are fulfilled in the fight against poverty and in funding for development, in line with the Millennium Development Goals and agreements signed at the Accra and Doha Conferences. It will also support the United Nations in producing an action plan on gender equality. In terms of aid, it will seek to make progress in the goal of raising the percentage of official development assistance to 0.56% of GDP in 2010 and 0.7% by 2015.
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