Ane Barcos / Aquí Europa
Javier Elorza, former Spanish ambassador to the European Union, said yesterday that the enlargement to several Eastern countries, such as Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, which the French and Germans are promoting “will be paid for by agriculture and poor countries”. Elorza made this statement when presenting the report he has directed, under the title “A Spanish vision of the EU: 2024-2029”, which has been promoted by Prestomedia.
The Ortega Marañón Foundation in Madrid hosted yesterday, Monday, the presentation of the first phase of the study, which addresses the immediate and medium-term future of the European Union from a Spanish perspective. The text is intended as a valuable contribution to the European debate, underlining the importance of Spain’s maturity as a member state over the last four decades. Under the direction of Ambassador Javier Elorza and with the contribution of experts such as Francisco Fonseca, Miguel Arias Cañete and María Luisa Humanes, the multidisciplinary writing team addresses technical aspects, major issues and prospects in three parts.
Yago González, CEO of Prestomedia, explained that with the firm determination to contribute to the development of ideas to make “more and better Europe”, Prestomedia launched “Objective Europe”, a think tank with the participation of experts with knowledge of the European reality, covering various ages and political visions established in order to generate actions that strengthen the European project and advise the Group’s media.
In the context of the upcoming European elections, the group identified the need to prepare a study in which the Spanish vision of the future of Europe, how Spain can move its assets to see how the enlargement of the European Union is carried out and the necessary reform of the treaties to enable these incorporations.
Jesús González, director of Canal Europa and Aquí Europa, emphasized that this is a study that does not speak of Spanish priorities, “that does not say what we need from the European Union, but rather speaks of a Spanish vision that I believe that after 40 years we have the right to be able to speak of a Spanish mission”.
The study is divided into three parts. The first is devoted to the key policies of constitutional governance. The second part deals, through contributions from experts, with the major issues of institutional governance, energy governance and economic governance: energy and the European green pact, territorial and social cohesion, digitalization, geopolitics, security and defense, values, rights and democracy, global health and tourism. And a third part on foresight. Closing with an executive summary.
The study, directed by Javier Elorza, who was Spain’s permanent representative to the EU under the governments of Felipe González and José María Aznar, seeks to contribute to explaining what Spain’s position should be in the face of the strategic objectives set out in the new legislature and to transfer these ideas to the Institutions.
In his speech, Elorza acknowledged that “it is not an easy task to contemplate the future and guess what a game with many players and many interests is going to be like“. When speaking about the possible enlargement to include countries such as Ukraine, Moldavia, Georgia and some Balkan countries, as the French and Germans have been suggesting, alleging strategic reasons, Elorza was very reticent and warned that “this enlargement will be paid for by agriculture and poor countries”.
For his part, Miguel Arias Cañete, former European Commissioner for Energy, emphasized the difficulty of the coming years and the need to have clear objectives. In this regard, he highlighted the “pragmatic and courageous” analysis of Ambassador Elorza, “someone accustomed to facing great challenges and working tirelessly to overcome them”. The former commissioner indicated the importance of a recurring objective in the study: to ensure that Spain has the possibility of a blocking minority in the European Union. He stressed that this challenge would guarantee a strong position for Spain, allowing it to influence major enlargement events and future EU policies.
The Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Antonio Gutiérrez Limones, also participated in the presentation, pointing out that in the current world scenario “violent, complex and full of uncertainties, if the European Union wants to play to be a global player in the coming years, its best letter of introduction can only be those shared values of democracy, the rule of law and human rights”. He also highlighted Spain’s contribution to the European Union since its accession, assuring that it has benefited Europe but also Spain. In this sense, he affirmed that “we are obliged to lead the reform process to be carried out in the coming years in the European Union and at the same time we are also obliged to do so accompanied by the voice and also the position of the Ibero-American community, because it is the most Euro-compatible region in the world”.
The Report analyzes the process of reflection on the future of Europe which has taken place in recent years and gathers the conditions which are considered important for Spain and which must necessarily be met in order to reform the Treaties, always in favor of greater integration and more Europe and, at the same time and without collision with the defense of Spanish interests.
