María Núñez De Arenas-Aquí Europa
On June 9, Spaniards are called to vote in the elections to the European Parliament. Elections that take place in a geopolitical context of enormous uncertainty and with a European agenda full of challenges. In this situation, it is of enormous importance to inform citizens of the different projects that each political formation offers to build a better Europe.
The Europe Room of the European Parliament Headquarters in Madrid has been the scene of a debate between the eight main political groups running for the European Elections. A meeting that has been an opportunity to debate the main European issues from a journalistic point of view.
The debate was moderated by the director of Aqui Europa and Canal Europa, Jesús González Mateos, and by Encarna Samitier, director of 20 minutos, and included the participation of Cesar Luena (PSOE), Adrián Vázquez (PP), Jordi Cañas (Ciudadanos ), Floren Marcellesi (Sumar), Isa Serra (Vamos), Marcela Reigía (Vox), Helle Kettner (Esquerra Republicana) and Oihane Agirregoitia (PNV).
The eight participants have addressed the European reality through four blocks: “Europe in the world, security and defense”, “Democracy, rights and values”, “Sustainability and industrial competitiveness” and “What are we at stake in the European elections? ”. The journalistic nature of the debate also left its mark on the audience, which was made up of information professionals from different media outlets.
Europe in the world, security and defense
In an international context marked by war conflicts, European defense and security has become a central part of the community agenda. The next European legislature will be fundamental to address the EU’s position in the face of external tension and its strategy to defend peace.
In this area, Cesar Luena, of the PSOE, assured that the EU “must have a stronger and more forceful voice” in the face of the conflict between Israel and Hamas and that “the hard line of sanctions against Russia must be maintained.” Luena approved “increasing our strategic and military capabilities, but never withdrawing funds that are intended to preserve social Europe.”
From Ciudadanos, Jordi Cañas assured that “without security there is no freedom” and that the EU “must guarantee peace and freedom in a world where threats have returned and where global powers are being reorganized.” Regarding investment in defense, Cañas assured that “if we are not autonomous, we will not be able to grow and assume our role.”
Marcela Reigía was the spokesperson for Vox in this debate and assured that “Europe suffers a greater threat” and “it is illegal immigration”, for which her party proposes “strong borders, expulsion of illegals and the end of goodism”.
Isa Serra spoke on behalf of Podemos, who claim to defend a “Europe of peace” and “diplomatic means to end the war in Ukraine.” He has also stated that “it is evident that we are experiencing a genocide in Palestine” and has criticized Spain because he considers that “recognizing the Palestinian state is not enough.”
Floren Marcellesi, from Sumar, assured that “Europe must defend Human Rights and International Law and this has to be seen in all conflicts.” For this reason, he assured that “we cannot say different things in conflicts and we cannot go against the CJEU.”
Helle Kettner, from Esquerra Republicana, assured that they miss “diplomatic work to reach resolution points in conflicts” and that “we must talk about European strategic sovereignty to be self-sufficient in many areas.”
From the PNV, Oihane Agirregoitia, assured that “the EU must know how to guarantee peace and protection” and, to do so, “it must strengthen the capacities of border territories, guarantee corridors with food security and improve digital resilience.”
This block was closed by Adrián Vázquez, from the PP, who stated that “obviously we all want peace, but it must be defended.” For this reason, he proposes “developing a coordinated Defense industry and the creation of a Defense Committee with a legislative nature.”
Democracy, rights and values
The essence of the EU is democracy and the rule of law. In the current context, the moderators asked the participants about their proposal to preserve community values in the next legislature and their position on European migration policies.
Adrián Vázquez mentioned the conditionality mechanisms so that the funds “do not go to those who do not respect the values of the EU”, adding that “unfortunately Spain is in that club.”
Jordi Cañas affirmed that the EU is “a guarantor of rights and democracy” and “it is essential that it be maintained.” Regarding migration, the Ciudadanos representative assured that “we must work to channel migration.”
The Vox representative assured that “democracies are in danger because of oligarchs who make decisions above European citizens.” As an example, she spoke of Viktor Orbán, ensuring that the Hungarian leader has been threatened and sanctioned for doing what he promised.
Isa Serra continued with her opposition to the current European Commission and stated that “the policies of Von Der Leyen and the United States do not allow us to fight for Human Rights.” The participant appealed to the need to invest in social matters in the EU because “we are returning to the path of austerity that generated a lot of poverty.”
From Sumar they showed a critical stance with the Asylum and Migration Pact, which they claim “externalizes borders, allows returns to unsafe countries, and puts a price on migrants: It is a pact of shame.”
From Esquerra Republicana they consider that “social rights must always take priority over economic priorities”, as well as that “we must not return to the errors of the past”, appealing to fiscal austerity policies. On the other hand, Oihane Agirregoitia, from the PNV, assured that “a call must be made to reinforce the social pillar as the essence of the European model and differentiator from the US and China” and highlighted his party’s abstention in the Migration and Asylum Pact.
César Luena spoke of the need to “impose a cordon sanitaire on the extreme right to defend the values of the EU” and assured that “the extreme right is a clear enemy of civilization and the EU.” Furthermore, regarding the immigration agreement he stated that “it is insufficient but it was the first step.”
Sustainability and industrial competitiveness
Sustainability measures without stopping looking at the industry will be one of the keys in the coming years to be able to achieve the European objectives of the Green Deal, but also to maintain the competitiveness of European markets.
In this sense, Cesar Luena assured that “only a sustainable economy will be a competitive economy” and that, in the work of the Green Pact, “there must be an adaptation law that incorporates more financing for diversity in nature, for the health of the soils and for the water.” The PP representative showed his support for this latest PSOE proposal, stating that he agreed “on a European water pact, which is a problem for Spain, but also for Europe.”
For his part, Jordi Cañas stated that “environmental sustainability has to be linked to social sustainability and economic sustainability” because otherwise “the obligations from an environmental perspective can have perverse effects on our industry and our competitiveness.
From Vox, the participant assured that the responsibility “for climate change comes from East Asia”, which is why she positioned herself against “the policies with which they always lose.” In contrast, Isa Serra appealed “to public control of strategic sectors for an ecological and public transition.”
From Sumar and Esquerra they approached Podemos’s approach and shared the idea that “the transition must be fair or it will not be.” While Marcellesi appealed to “policy coherence” to “respond to the objectives,” the ER representative mentioned new types of taxes, “such as those proposed for private planes.”
The PNV participant stated that the transition must be made “without leaving anyone behind,” as well as addressing “what infrastructure we need to generate and store clean energy.”
What are we at stake in the European elections?
The last block of the debate focused on the relevance of the upcoming European elections on June 9. In this sense, Adrián Vázquez assured that “they are not just another election” and that “we need Spanish deputies who believe in a democratic Spain.”
Jordi Cañas wanted to reduce the national key by saying that “they are not about Feijoo or Sánchez”, but rather “it is about how we are going to defend the rights of the Spanish people from a European perspective.” On the other hand, the Vox representative spoke of “it is time to rebuild Europe” and for “the elite to stop leading the EU.”
The left-wing parties focused the importance of the elections on fighting against the growth of the extreme right, since, according to Luena, “we don’t want them to have strength.” While Serra appealed to vote for parties “that defend Human Rights and peace”, the Sumar representative affirmed “defending LGTBIQ+ people, migrants and women against setbacks.” For its part, Esquerra Republicana assured that “the reactionary right puts fundamental rights at stake.”
The PNV approached its position with the parties of the political left and stated that “we must not take anything for granted because we have extremist movements that are creating tension and hatred.”
A debate under the gaze of journalists
The journalistic key to this European debate was not only in the moderators, but also in the public and in the closing of the meeting. Before finishing, the eight participants answered three questions that the Association of European Journalists had prepared for the representatives, with which they intended to address three issues of political and civil interest.
The APE asked about possible alliances after the European results, to which the PSOE representative responded with the need for “a cordon sanitaire to the extreme right” and the PP participant put “the red line” in the parties that “have favored to foreign interference.” The rest of the formations aligned themselves with the idea of an alliance in accordance with the values of the EU, while Vox assured that they would “denounce the current alliances.”
The journalists also asked the parties about their position regarding the election of the candidate to the European Commission, all of them positioned themselves in favor of the Spitzenkandidat process and moving towards more democratic processes in the election of the community Executive power.
The third question with which the debate closed focused on knowing the position of the parties regarding the future enlargement, regarding which there was also a consensus in favor of a possible enlargement, but with compliance with the requirements and criteria that the parties met. Member States in their different accession processes.
