The Diplomat
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, took advantage of his presence in Oporto on the occasion of the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Portuguese Socialist Party to meet with the Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa, with whom he discussed European issues, such as the Spanish Presidency, the open strategic autonomy, the reform of the economic governance framework, the reduction of energy costs or trade agreements.
Sánchez, who arrived this Sunday in the Portuguese city, included the meeting with Costa in the framework of his tour of several Member States to prepare for the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which will begin on July 1, according to Moncloa.
“Through these bilateral meetings, the President of the Government is getting to know first-hand the opinion of the different European governments on priority issues for the twenty-seven,” it added. As part of this tour, the President of the Government has recently traveled to Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Belgium (the country that will succeed Spain in the rotating EU Presidency), Cyprus, Malta and Italy, where he met with his counterparts.
During the meeting, which took place on Sunday, Pedro Sánchez shared with his Portuguese counterpart the relevance of open strategic autonomy, within the framework of the current debate on the competitiveness of European industry, a matter that, he stressed, is “directly linked to other key issues for the Spanish Presidency”, such as the reform of the economic governance framework, the reduction of energy costs or trade agreements. In this area, both leaders agreed on the importance of deepening relations with Latin America.
Since June 15, 2022, Spain and Portugal have been governed by the so-called Iberian Mechanism, which establishes a ceiling of 40 euros per megawatt/hour on the price of gas used to produce electricity. This system, authorized a year ago by the European Council in view of the “energy island” nature of the peninsula, was extended last March 28 by the Council of Ministers until December 31, after obtaining the approval of the European Commission.
The two leaders also exchanged views on the Migration and Asylum Pact. President Sanchez conveyed to his Portuguese counterpart the will to reach a consensus that addresses the migration debate “from a positive point of view and based on balance, responsibility, solidarity and inclusion”.
