Zapatero noemt Spaans voorzitterschap 'goed' (en)

The President of the Spanish Government, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero i, speaking in the Spanish Congress of Deputies on Wednesday, gave an overview of the six-month period of the Spanish Presidency, which he described as "positive" and "useful".

Rodríguez Zapatero highlighted the "firm" support of EU partners and institutions for Spain's "efforts" to adopt "necessary" measures to tackle the crisis, and expressed his conviction that the European Council summit held last week was positive for both Europe and Spain.

"Only rarely has a European Council been so steadfast in its will to clear up uncertainties, with a decisive commitment to unity and transparency, to more effective supervision instruments, and with a firm decision, in my opinion irreversible, to make progress in managing this crisis together and driving forward the recovery", he said.

One of the most important decisions adopted was the agreement, requested by Spain, for the results of the stress tests carried out on European credit entities to be published in the second half of July. This measure is "fundamental for restoring calm in the markets, discouraging unjustified speculation and returning trust to the inter-bank market".

The head of the Spanish Government reviewed all the initiatives from this summit. He said Spain's performance had been "good" during a half-year in which the Spanish Government "has felt it has been of use". He added that it had had to tackle particularly difficult circumstances and had relished the opportunity to play an active role at a "decisive" time.

Zapatero said that, in his opinion, the two principal objectives set out at the start of the Spanish Presidency of the EU had been met: achieving the full application of the Treaty of Lisbon with the full support of the new institutions, and making progress on economic coordination between the member states in order to tackle the crisis and promote recovery.

In terms of the agreements reached over the six months, he highlighted the approval of Europe's 2020 Strategy for growth and employment. This introduces the reforms needed in Europe in order to deal with challenges such as globalisation, the ageing population and the battle against climate change.

In terms of objectives, he underscored the efforts aimed at reducing poverty and social exclusion, and said that “it is all about maintaining growth while not losing our focus on social cohesion”.

He expressed his regret, during the speech, that two of the planned summits did not take place: that of the EU and the United States and that of the Union for the Mediterranean.

He said the former had been "impossible" as it came so soon after the previous summit with the United States and due to US Government agenda reasons, although this had not represented any hindrance to relations between the two. In fact, the "open skies" agreement will be signed on Thursday, which will bring about the creation of a common EU-US trans-Atlantic aviation area covering 60% of global passenger traffic.

Rodríguez Zapatero ended his speech by expressing his conviction that the Presidency had worked "hard and well" and thanking the parliamentary groups for their support, adding that they had acknowledged the execution of "a true State policy".