Madrid, 08/01/2010 (Agence Europe) - Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Zapatero explained at a press conference in Madrid on Thursday 7 January 2010 that Spain wants the EU to strengthen the coordination of member states' economic policies, boost integration in the single market and improve the protection of Europeans' interests. Spain wants to make the most of its time at the helm of the EU to encourage the creation of European government on economic issues, thereby increasing the coordination of countries' economic policies and fining member states that fail to meet economic targets set by the EU.
The Spanish government is planning to stimulate debate on the coordination of economic policies at an informal European summit in Brussels on 11 February to discuss the European Economic Recovery Programme, explained José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. At the summit, the European Union will start discussing a new strategy for the new decade to replace the Lisbon Strategy of the year 2000 that aimed to turn the EU into the world's most competitive knowledge-based economy by 2010. The fact that this was not achieved is largely due to it being little more than a wish-list that was not binding on member states' governments.
The EU is leaving a long period of introspection and navel-gazing over institutional matters following ructions in getting the Lisbon Treaty adopted. The Spanish prime minister said that the EU should now concentrate on its fundamental objectives, particularly economic policy. He said the economic crisis had shown that new measures are needed as a result of globalisation - and these new measures have to be based on cooperation and the coordination of economic policies.
José Luis Zapatero wants the EU to remain prosperous and increase its wealth by focussing economic policy on four areas: 1) the financial system (the EU has already introduced a new European surveillance model but needs to do more than this); 2) consolidating and extending the single market by boosting it in various areas, like a single European energy market, explained Zapatero, that goes further than simply a common energy policy, and a single European digital market by 2015; 3) Zapatero said the EU needed a policy of hugely expanding research into new technology and innovation, adding that the current set-up had generated positive outcomes but at the price of the benefits going to big industrial companies rather than small business; and 4) José Luis Zapatero said it was crucial to have a new type of strategy for 2020 that was binding and had teeth. He said that the annual economic policy guidelines had not been very successful and recommended a strategy for 2020 that included incentives and corrective measures, where possible, for countries failing to meet specific economic targets like targets for new technology, liberalising the digital market and energy.
The Spanish secretary of state for European affairs, Diego Lopez Garrido, mooted economic policy options like providing countries meeting EU targets with EU subsidies, and fining countries failing to meet targets. Asked whether this would mean that the EU would have a qualitative right to scrutinise the budgets of the member states, over and above the EU's powers to restrict budgets under the stability and growth pacts, Lopez Garrido said it would prevent budgets from failing to focus on the EU's strategy. Spain may well irritate the United Kingdom and the most free market-oriented member states here, which tend to want to prevent the EU from what they see as meddling in their budgets.
Zapatero said he was aware that a number of countries, like France, wanted greater economic unity in Europe. For years now, France was being trying to win countries over to the idea of an EU economic government in the eurozone, despite strong reservations from Germany (fearing a loss of independence at the European Central Bank). France broke new ground in 2008 by convening the very first summit of eurozone heads of state during the economic crisis. Zapatero said he wanted to take the idea forward, saying that a further summit of eurozone leaders should be held.
The Spanish prime minister called for a root-and-branch reworking of the European Social Fund to create more jobs and better training opportunities.
The Lisbon Treaty requires a new EU foreign and security policy that incorporates the idea of “European interests”, added José Luis Zapatero. Spain wants to get the EU to make faster progress on individuals' rights, sexual equality and tackling all forms of discrimination, he said. Zapatero ended by arguing that if society claims to be progressive, it has to demonstrate high standards on equality between men and women. See this issues' special report for details about the Spanish Presidency's priorities. (L.C./transl.fl)