The Diplomat in Spain

Rajoy, yesterday, at the Parliament./ Photo: Pool Moncloa/J. M. Cuadrado

The Diplomat. 16/03/2017

The President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy, defended the consolidation of the EU and more European integration yesterday, affirming that Spain is ready to move forward, even if it is at different speeds.

Rajoy mentioned as challenges of the EU: facing the “unease” caused by the crisis, the rise of populisms and nationalisms, the reappearance of the protectionist tension, the challenges of globalization, the demographical decline and the technological-digital revolution, according to what he said before the Congress, where he informed of the conclusions of the European Council held last week.

He proposed completing the banking union, going more deeply into the coordination of economic policies and moving towards a tax union, which would entail a European budget with capacity to support those countries that, at some point, are undergoing a complicated economic situation and the possibility of issuing debt jointly, the so-called Eurobonds.

The head of the Executive gave special relevance to the summit of Rome of 25 March on the occasion of the 60^th anniversary of the signing of the treaties that created the EU, because he thinks that it must be a “turning point” and it has to send a message of hope, trust and unity for the community future.

Without explicitly mentioning the possibility of a Europe of different speeds, he supported it by guaranteeing that Spain must go further as regards integration with all those willing to do so in foreign policy, defence, immigration, the fight against terrorism or the monetary union. In the business field, he defended that Europe keeps being an economy open to the world, because that means growth, employment and prosperity.

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The president asks for the next summit of Rome to be a “turning point” for the community future

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PSOE, Podemos and Ciudadanos, the main groups of the opposition, criticized the economic optimism showed by Rajoy. The spokesperson of PSOE, Antonio Hernando, questioned that “satisfaction”, since his “tone” contrasted with the report of the OECD “that said that there is risk of poverty and policies have to be changed”.

For his part, the spokesperson of Podemos, Pablo Iglesias, condemned the “history of successes” mentioned by Rajoy, remembering that Spain was also an example of economic model, along with Ireland, before the start of the crisis, and that when the recession of the European Central Bank started “it was banned from purchasing sovereign debt”.

Iglesias was sarcastic about another “great success”, the Brexit. The EC estimated that there would be a fall in exports after it, as well as a consequent loss of European funds. In this sense, he asked whether the 888 million that would be lost will mean new cutbacks.

Finally, the president of Ciudadanos, Albert Rivera, shared Rajoy’s will to move towards the unification in debt and fiscal policy, but he asked to work in a common fund for unemployment. “This is not going as well as you say. We are not in the Championship of unemployment, we have won it. We cannot be proud of misfortune”, he concluded.