Eduardo González
The situation in Ukraine as a central element of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU was the focus of the meeting held yesterday in Madrid between the Spanish Government and the College of EU Commissioners to prepare the agenda and address the priorities of the Spanish semester.
The meeting, which was attended by 17 European Commissioners -including the High Representative, Josep Borrell- and all the ministers of the Spanish Government (following the Commission’s tradition of traveling to the country holding the rotating Presidency at the beginning of each term), was held in the Galería de las Colecciones Reales, next to the Almudena Cathedral and the Royal Palace, and concluded with a bilateral meeting and the subsequent joint press conference of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the President of the Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen.
During this meeting, Sánchez and Von der Leyen addressed the priorities of the Spanish Presidency, with special attention to the situation in Ukraine. “The Russian aggression has shaken the foundations of the West, and has brought back concerns and ghosts that we thought we had overcome”, declared Pedro Sánchez, who informed Von der Leyen about his visit to Kyiv last Saturday, in which, he assured, he was able to convey to President Volodímir Zelenski the firm support of Spain and the whole EU to the Ukrainian people. According to the Prime Minister, one of the objectives of the Spanish Presidency is to strengthen unity and continue supporting Ukraine in all areas, as well as in its path to EU accession. “Europe and Ukraine: together until victory and freedom”, he declared.
For her part, Von der Leyen stated that the EU has a “duty” to continue supporting Ukraine, which “includes reliable and regular financial support.” “We have put forward a new Facility for Ukraine, as part of our proposal for a revised EU budget – it is about EUR 50 billion until 2027, for budget and for repair,” she announced. “We are very much counting on the Spanish government’s support for our proposals on the Multiannual Financial Framework revision by the end of the year.,” she added.
“This funding will also support Ukraine’s reform efforts,” Von der Leyen stressed. “Ukraine is working hard to progress on their EU path, as you all know, and this despite the atrocious war” and, therefore, “the Commission will present the progress report on enlargement and the Spanish Presidency will have to steer very skilfully these very important discussions on Ukraine’s accession path in the fall,” she said.
As for other aid to Ukraine, Von der Leyen highlighted “the sanctions to keep a high pressure on Russia,” warned of the need to provide “the Ukrainian forces with what they need to be successful on the battlefield” and called, in this regard, for “the Spanish Presidency to secure a swift political agreement on the so-called Act in Support of Ammunition Production, so that we can deliver more ammunition to Ukraine and, at the same time, replenish our own stocks as well.” “The third point for Ukraine is on accountability,” continued the president, who announced that, just yesterday, the International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression had begun “its very important work in The Hague” and had started documenting “Russia’s war crimes so that they can be brought to justice.” Finally, Von der Leyen stressed the need to “advance work on the use of the proceeds of the immobilized Russian assets.”
Strategic autonomy, EU-CELAC, ecological transition and migration
On other issues, Pedro Sánchez spoke with Ursula Von der Leyen about the need to reduce the EU’s external vulnerabilities and reinforce its open strategic autonomy by increasing productive capacities, guaranteeing economic security and diversifying “trade relations with special attention to friendly and close countries”. In this sense, the President of the Government pointed to Latin America and the Caribbean as strategic partners and recalled the forthcoming EU-CELAC Summit to be held in Brussels at the initiative of Spain and with the support of Von der Leyen. “We hope that this summit will mark a before and after in the history of relations between Latin America and the EU,” she declared.
In this regard, the EU President urged the Spanish Presidency to “take forward the economic security strategy” presented by the Commission and defended the need to “build strong partnerships around the world.” “That is where Spain, with all its global influence, can really make a difference,” she declared. “We already have an important event coming up: It is the EU-CELAC Summit mid-July, the first such Summit with Latin America and the Caribbean since eight years, and a lot is at stake,” added Von der Leyen, who warned of the need to push forward the EU-Mercosur trade agreement and to finalize agreements with Mexico and Chile during the Spanish semester.
Sánchez and Von der Leyen also discussed the ecological transition and environmental adaptation, agreed on the need to have a more competitive economy (“the first priority of the Spanish Presidency, and rightly so”, declared the European President) and addressed the Migration and Asylum Pact. In this regard, Pedro Sánchez thanked the Swedish Presidency for its work and assured that Spain is taking on this dossier with ambition and with the certainty that it can continue to count on the Commission’s support. For her part, Ursula von der Leyen declared that it is necessary to make progress on the Pact on Migration and Asylum “so that it can be approved by the end of this mandate”.
Audience with the King
After this meeting, King Felipe VI received in audience at the Royal Palace in Madrid the members of the College of Commissioners of the European Union, hours after holding an audience at the Palace of La Zarzuela with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, who the day before had met with Pedro Sánchez at the Moncloa Complex.
In the Saleta Gasparini, the Monarch was greeted by the President of the Government and the President of the European Commission before going to the Salon de Columnas for a group photograph with the members of the College of Commissioners and a meeting with the attendees. The meeting was attended by a dozen ministers, including the Vice-President for Economic Affairs and Ecological Transition and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares.
