"Spaans Voorzitterschap bepalend voor de toekomst van de EU" (en)

The Spanish Secretary of State for the EU, Diego López Garrido (centre), during the conference on the first 100 days of the Spanish Presidency of the European Union. (Real Instituto Elcano)

At this Wednesday's conference on the first 100 days of the Spanish Presidency of the European Union, Diego López Garrido, the Spanish Secretary of State for the EU, said the Union is currently reviewing its foundations, and that the first 100 days of the Spanish Presidency have been geared toward setting out Europe's objectives.

López Garrido said that, while not every issue arising in this new phase of the European Union will be resolved under the Spanish Presidency, it will set the course for the Union's future.

The Secretary of State said the Spanish Presidency is taking place in a complex context, against the backdrop of the economic crisis and the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty. However, he claimed that the Presidency has reacted well to unforeseen events and difficulties, such as the two-month delay in the new European Commission becoming operational and the postponement of the summit with the United States.

López Garrido added that "The areas being worked on now are based on the programme essentially designed last year by the Spanish Presidency, with the support of Belgium and Hungary. What we are seeing now was prepared and designed by the Spanish Government, with the constant help of Spanish politicians, civil leaders, trade unions and business leaders."

Main objectives of the European Union

López Garrido stressed that the leading future objective of the EU involves overhauling its "economic government/model" in order to overcome the current economic crisis, which is why European leaders are "so carefully studying and preparing" the Europe 2020 strategy.

"In response to the crisis, the EU is designing a somewhat "revolutionary" new economic government: Europe is looking to emerge from the crisis, to come up with a new growth model, establish better supervision of the financial system, and introduce regulation and tax co-ordination that has until now been non-existent in the financial system", he said.

Nevertheless, the Secretary of State said Europe must "be clear" that it needs to move toward "a system of socially sustainable economic growth". In addition to the economic and social objectives, he cited the fight against climate change, an objective "that goes beyond Europe's borders and in which the EU is a clear leader".

"Look to the future, but act now"

López Garrido also discussed immigration in the EU, saying "we must look to the future, but act now," given that "we are directly affected by the unstoppable demographic shifts between the world's continents."

He said the EU has the longest life expectancy of any world region, while its countries also have the world's lowest fertility rates. "In contrast, Asia, Africa and Latin America have much younger populations. This fact, coupled with the demand for immigration in the EU, leads to demographic movements. The Presidency is going to carry out the first-ever evaluation of the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum."

Lastly, the Secretary of State discussed the creation of a single security and justice area, saying he believed "it does not make sense to have a single market and a single currency, without a single area of security and justice.”

López Garrido concluded, “We must decide what place we want to take in this changing, multi-polar world, and we can identify weaknesses in three main areas that could affect the European Union's position in the future, in our defence policy, in the definition of foreign policy - a very serious weakness - and in our foreign policy instruments."