Diego Lopez Garrido says the Spanish Presidency will set the tone for Europe's future

In the days running up to the six-month Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU, this newsletter interviewed Spanish Secretary of State for European Affairs Diego Lopez Garrido about the introduction of the Lisbon Treaty and the big challenge he says will have to be faced in the years to come, namely unity in Europe.

Agence Europe: As the first rotating presidency of the EU Council after the Lisbon Treaty, Spain does not have so much room for manoeuvre. How do you see the presidency's new role?

Diego Lopez Garrido: The rotating presidency the Council remains in place and the Council has huge power in the European Union because it has been allocated new powers under the Lisbon Treaty. The Presidency of the Council will still coordinate all the different Council formations and prepare the agenda for the European Council. (…) The President of the Council of the EU, Jose-Luis Rodriquez Zapatero, will submit the Presidency's programme to the European Parliament (…) in January and will still be responsible for applying the Presidency's political programme, which will include extremely important priorities. It is true, however, that it will now be President Van Rompuy and Lady Ashton who represent the European Union abroad. (…) A special situation will arise under the Spanish Presidency in that it will be a presidency of transition between the old model and the new structure as laid down in the new treaty. Hence the Presidency will have to pay particular attention to ensuring application of the Lisbon Treaty and strengthening the new figureheads, the President of the European Council and the High Representative. (…) This means that the Spanish Presidency is burdened by very high expectations.

A.E.: What are your priorities when it comes to implementing the Lisbon Treaty?

D. L. G.: The Lisbon Treaty is a new period in the life of the European Union and it will not be possible to do everything in six months. We will set the tone for Europe for the future because the Spanish Presidency's top priority will be applying the Lisbon Treaty, in other words setting up new structures and sharing powers within the EU. We will have to develop new areas of EU competence, areas like energy - moving towards an Internal Energy Market - and the coordination of economic policies. We will have to start working on applying the citizen's imitative, signing the European Convention of Human Rights and new measures on justice and home affairs. (…) We will have to apply the Stockholm Programme Action Plan. On top of this, there is the protection of human rights and extending the European citizenship concept into the twenty-first century. All in all, this will be a formidable workload.

A.E.: Do you expect the EU to join the European Convention of Human Rights in the next six months?

D. L. G.: No, I don't think so. It is a highly complex issue that has to be negotiated with the Council of Europe. The technical aspects need to be worked out and a few changes will be required in the Council of Europe's rules of operation to make it possible for organisations like the European Union to join. (…) We will move in the direction of signing the European Convention of Human Rights.

A.E.: In your view, is it the Council of Europe or the Council of the EU that is the greater obstacle to the EU joining the Convention?

D. L. G.: We are liaising with the Council of Europe, which is prepared to approve the changes to make it possible for the European Union to join. I believe the question of Russia's endorsement of Protocol 14 (Ed.: concerning changes to the way the Court of Human Rights functions, approved in May 2004 but not yet in force due to the fact that Russia has not yet ratified it) is being solved. There is no problem with Russia. It is just a matter of time. It is a technical rather than a political question.

A.E.: People say that the European Foreign Service will be up and running in April 2010. Is this timing feasible?

D. L. G.: Yes. I have just been speaking with the European Commission's Secretary General Catherine Day about it (Ed.: the interview took place in Brussels on 8 December 2009). We again agreed that April would be the month for launching the European Foreign Service. A decision will have to be adopted on the organisation and structures of the new corps and the Lisbon Treaty stipulates that the High Representative shall submit a proposal to this end, which will then need to be approved by the Commission and the Council of Ministers, and the European Parliament will need to be consulted. It is true that all the EU institutions will be involved in the process but I believe it will indeed be possible to get the political decision adopted and launch the European foreign service.

A.E.: The creation of a new European foreign service has been greeted with concern at the Council of Ministers, the European Commission, the European Parliament and in the Member States. Some see it as a danger of excessive intergovernmental power; others as a loss of national sovereignty. What do you say to this?

D. L. G.: The foreign service should not be seen as an intergovernmental matter. Quite the opposite! It is a European Union department that has an autonomous structure and operates autonomously. It will represent the European Union as a whole. There will be only one legal body representing the European Union. The various pillars have been scrapped. This new department will answer to the Commission Vice-President, Lady Ashton (…). There will be staff members from the Commission, the Council of Ministers and Member States, but the department will not be intergovernmental. It will be a European diplomatic corps, a department that I believe should be the best and of the highest quality. That is why civil servants need to be encouraged and motivated to join the EU foreign service.

A.E.: Will Spain support the growth of a common security and defence policy (CSDP) or will it leave security issues to NATO?

D. L. G.: I believe the European Union has a role in civilian-military missions, peacekeeping and imposing peace. I believe there will be quite a wide area of action for the new EU foreign policy. We do not have a true foreign policy. It will have to be created… created with new figureheads and the European External Action Service. The European defence policy has to be incorporated into it. We want to open the debate under the Spanish Presidency: there will be a seminar on the option of 'permanent structured cooperation' foreseen in the Lisbon Treaty. This needs to be looked into, which is why we have planned the seminar.

On the military front, purely European operations are already in action, like Atalanta (Ed.: tackling piracy off the coast of Somalia). I believe there is a role for European missions that are compatible with NATO missions. (…) We are for the strengthening of foreign policy, creating a true European diplomatic corps. We have set up new figureheads in order to have a genuine EU foreign policy. It would be ludicrous to have foreign policy structures without a foreign policy.

A.E.: At the moment, the Union for the Mediterranean is little more than a structure without any well-known figureheads. Do you think it is possible to bring the Union for the Mediterranean to life?

D. L. G.: You are aware that the situation in the Middle East is still having a negative impact on constructive proposals like the Union for the Mediterranean (Ed.: UfM). It was almost brought to a halt by the crisis in Gaza, for example. We are setting great store by the European Union's new powers and I believe that we will very shortly have a UfM Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General and rules of operation for a permanent secretariat in order to prepare for the UfM Summit (Ed.: which the Spanish Presidency hopes can take place in the first half of 2010) and prepare for the plans approved in Paris. It is clear that this will not be an easy task.

We believe in the Union for the Mediterranean. It is a strategic question for Europe. The Mediterranean is a fabulous region but at the same time, it also generates instability in the world. The Israeli-Palestinian issue is also the big peace issue. The only place where Israelis and Palestinians can meet together is the Union for the Mediterranean.

A.E.: Can the EU take a more proactive role in the Middle East?

D. L. G.: I believe the European Union has to take a more active role and have more of a presence. (…) We have to pull our weight on the international stage and that is why it is very important to have the new Lisbon Treaty figureheads for the rest of the world to see representing the European Union and speaking with a single voice.

A.E.: What can the EU do in Afghanistan to actively support the US in its withdrawal strategy?

D. L. G.: The main protagonist in the region is NATO (…) but there is also an EU political position to support action in Afghanistan.

A.E.: Finally, what do you see as the European Union's greatest challenge in the future?

D. L. G.: The greatest challenge for the European Union is unity. Unity means the ability to act together. Together, we can achieve our aims (…) when it comes to economic policy, policy for tackling climate change and foreign policy. The Lisbon Treaty was drafted to achieve European Union unity in action. Not just unity of thought but also unity of action!

Applying the Lisbon Treaty

Implementing the Lisbon Treaty has been top of the Spanish Presidency's priority list since the Lisbon Treaty came into force (on 1 December 2009). It will obviously take more than six months to apply all the measures set out in the new treaty but the Spanish Presidency is hoping to make speedy progress and do as much as possible before handing over to the Belgian Presidency on 1 July 2010. Spanish Secretary of State for European Affairs Diego Lopez Garrido (see interview above) and Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos (see EUROPE 10044) explain that to this end, the Spanish government will act as true Europeans working towards consensus. Both men were at pains to stress the responsibilities facing Spain in striking a good modus vivendi between the EU's six-monthly rotating presidency, the new President of the European Council and the new High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security.

In addition to coordinating the EU's structures to enable the European Union to take more effective action and increase its visibility in the world, the Presidency will be acting as a mediator when it comes to the actual application of Lisbon Treaty measures. Top of the priority list is building the foundations of the new European External Action Service by April 2010. There are serious concerns about the new EU diplomatic corps among national civil services and the European institutions that mean that sticking to this timing will be a very tall order, especially in that there are serious discrepancies between the legal document prepared by the COREPER Permanent Representatives and expectations nurtured by the European Parliament (set out in the Brok Report). The European Parliament is only being consulted on the draft proposal to be unveiled by Catherine Ashton, but it can exert pressure during the process of approving the appointment of the new High Representative as part of the new European Commission; and by means of changes to the Inter-institutional Agreement and the Terms and Conditions of European civil servants, which are essential for running the new diplomatic corps and avoiding problems that would arise from staff working together but employed under different terms and conditions.

Measures in the Lisbon Treaty that the Spanish Presidency is planning to prioritise include encouraging the use of new powers in the field of energy; adoption of the protocol on the temporary increase in the number of MEPs (18 extra MEPs, four of whom from Spain); passing measures to introduce the citizen's initiative; entering negotiations over the EU joining the European Convention of Human Rights; and starting a debate on the mechanics for implementation of the mutual aid clause, the solidarity clause in the event of natural disasters and other emergencies and “structured permanent cooperation” in defence matters.

Promoting innovation to feed European economic recovery

Economic recovery remains extremely fragile and it is expected that the social consequences of the economic crisis will be felt for many months to come. The Spanish Presidency is hoping that the EU's new Economic Strategy 2020 based on innovation and sustainable growth will be adopted in March 2010. At a press conference on Friday 18 December 2009 to set out the Spanish Presidency's priorities, Miguel Angel Moratinos hinted that Spain wanted the measures in the new Economic Strategy 2020 to be binding (unlike the measures in the Lisbon Strategy) to force Member States to put their pledges into practice. The Presidency also wants greater coordination of Member States' economic policies.

Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Zapatero made this clear on 12 February 2009: 'During the Spanish Presidency, we will promote a thorough review, which means a review reaching into the roots of the Lisbon Strategy. To do so, coordination will not be enough. In the medium and long-term, we must think of more advanced strategies. Following the experience of this crisis, we must take courageous and audacious steps which will, this time, truly enable us to make the European Union soon become the most dynamic economic area in the world.' 'To succeed in transforming Europe into the driving force behind the global economy and advance towards political union, we must also make progress towards a common energy policy. And it is, once again, during our Presidency that the second Three Year Energy Action Plan 2010-2012 will have to be implemented. We must also more forward with the plan for major infrastructures in Europe.'

Spain wants to counter attacks on CAP and re-assert control in fisheries

“Agriculture and food: a strategic sector for Europe” is the idea on which Spain has built its six-month presidential programme for the Agriculture and Fisheries Council. It highlights what agriculture and the agrifood industry bring: - they provide people with healthy, high quality food while avoiding a high degree of food dependence in terms of imported products; - they provide employment and help economic growth; - they help protect the environment, maintain the regions and their biodiversity, and tackle climate change. There are three main Spanish priorities in agriculture: 1) the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) after 2013 (when the current EU financial perspectives expire) and even the CAP “for 2020”; 2) the competitiveness of agriculture and the agrifood industry; 3) women's place in rural society.

The CAP has, in a way, been caught in crossfire. Recent events (price volatility for raw materials, and the economic and food crisis) have revived concerns over global food security, while, within the Commission and among members of the Council, there has been a clamour for a significant reduction in Community appropriations to the CAP after 2013. The draft Commission communication “Reforming the Budget, Changing Europe”, recommending cuts in agricultural spending, is still fresh in everyone's mind, although it is likely that changes will be brought before the final version is adopted by the new Commission around the end of the first half of 2010. Spain is expected to argue for the CAP to continue to get a large share of the Community budget after 2013, and, in this, will probably be able to count on the support of several delegations (France, Italy, Ireland, Germany, and others). According to Spain, the CAP is a European policy that is of benefit to all European citizens and which bring definite Community added value. Spain intends to continue the debate on the future of the CAP, raising, inter alia, the issues of market management and crisis situations. The informal meeting of European agriculture ministers, in Merida on 30 May to 1 June, will also be devoted to the future of the CAP.

Over the course of its Presidency, Spain intends to work hard to help the European Commission prepare its legislative proposals on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The Commission is expected to bring forward its proposals towards the end of 2010 or at the start of 2011, and Spain, as the EU's leading fishing nation, intends to bring its full weight to bear in discussions. Its position is relatively extreme, and has little support among the other countries, calling for an overhaul not only of the principle of relative stability (using catch history to share fishing opportunities among countries) but also of the management system of total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas. Spain would prefer a system based only on days when fishing is authorised (days at sea). The debate, however, has only just begun, and the Spanish Presidency will await, first, the Commission report drawing conclusions from the consultation exercise on the Green Paper on the reform, which is due to be debated by Council at its meeting of 19-20 April. In addition, at the June Fisheries Council meeting (28-29 June), the Spanish Presidency will launch a debate on a working paper setting out a number of options for changes to the CFP. Among its other priorities are: reform of the common market organisation (CMO) for fisheries products, multi-annual management plans for a number of fish stocks (anchovy, northern hake, horse mackerel and Baltic salmon), eco-labelling for marine products, and the new system of management of days at sea for vessels fishing for deep sea species (roundnose grenadier, orange roughy, blue ling, and others). Spain places great importance, too, on agreements with third countries, for which CFP reform will bring great change.

Focusing policy on people

On 18 December 2009, Miguel Angel Moratinos said: “Europe can't be built without its citizens”, explaining that the Spanish Presidency was planning to boost citizens' rights and strengthen the European Social Model.

The Spanish Presidency is planning 'to advance in the creation of a European civil society,' work towards the EU joining the European Convention of Human Rights and promote the rights guaranteed by backed by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. It wants progress to be made on introducing the Stockholm Programme and preparing an Action Plan for Sexual Equality for 2011-2015. A European conference on equality between men and women will be held in Valencia on 25 and 26 March 2009. The Presidency will recommend the creation of a European Monitoring Centre on Violence against Women.

In Brussels on 8 December 2009, Diego Lopez Garrido explained that the Spanish Presidency would be promoting an ambitious social agenda to bridge the current divide between Europe and Europeans. To this end, the Presidency wants social and economic cohesion to be boosted. Spain is in favour of extending the EU's Cohesion Policy to Romania and Bulgaria and 'promoting a new statue on Ultra-Peripheral Regions'. On the Erasmus Programme, Spain is going to 'promote expanding these kinds of programmes to other facets of professional life.'

In 2010, the European Year for Combatting Poverty and Social Exclusion, Spain will take a proactive approach within Europe itself and also encourage development cooperation. Zapatero said that his government 'maintains its commitment to devoting 0.7% of its GDP to Official Development Assistance by the end of the current term of Parliament.'

Boosting the EU's role on the world stage

Well aware that the EU does not yet speak with one voice on the world stage, the Spanish Presidency is planning to encourage greater coherence and more effective EU action. 'We need to create a European foreign policy and defence policy,' explained Spanish Secretary of State for European Affairs Diego Lopez Garrido, pointing out that opinion polls suggest 80% of Europeans want a Single EU Foreign and Defence Policy.

Europe in general and Spain in particular will be a hive of diplomatic activity in the first six months of 2010. Spain aims to help the High Representative ensure progress in the Middle East Peace Process, and revitalise the Union for the Mediterranean at a summit in Barcelona in June. A important summit between the EU, Latin America and the Caribbean will be held in Madrid on 15 to 19 May. Lopez Garrido said that an EU-US summit in Madrid on 24 May 2009 will help transform transatlantic relations. Zapatero told a meeting of Spanish diplomats in Madrid on 7 October 2009 that Spain's four foreign policy priorities were Latin America, the Mediterranean, the United States and Russia.

When it comes to EU enlargement, the Spanish Prime Minister, José Luis Zapatero, explained in February 2009 that he wanted 'the Spanish Presidency to throw its support behind getting Croatia into the European Union, and behind Turkey's aspirations to enter the Union. This great country has been waiting too long at its gates.' Spain hopes to open accession negotiations with Iceland and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. New negotiating chapters will be opened in the talks with Turkey. The President of the Spanish Government said he wanted 'the Spanish Presidency to be distinguished for being Euro-American, in the widest sense of the term.' Central importance here will go to the EU's relationship with Latin America and the Caribbean, 'working intensely towards the strengthening of this strategic bi-regional partnership'. 'We aspire to making a reality the signature of the Association Agreement between the European Union and Central America, the first of the Agreements between these two regional blocs.'

Schedule of events during Spain's six-month Presidency of the Council of the European Union

January 2010

11-15: Interviews with Commissioners-designate (Brussels)

12-14: Informal meeting of European Affairs Ministers (La Granja, Segovia)

14-17: Informal meeting of Energy and Environment Ministers (Seville)

18: Eurogroup (Brussels)

18: Agriculture and Fisheries Council (Brussels)

18-19: Interviews of Commissioners-designate (Strasbourg)

18-21: European Parliament plenary session (Strasbourg)

19: Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Brussels)

20-22: Informal meeting of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers (Toledo)

25: General Affairs Council and Foreign Affairs Council (Brussels)

26: European Parliament sitting to mark investiture of new European Commission (Brussels)

27-29: Informal meeting of Employment and Social Affairs Ministers (Barcelona)

February 2010

7-9: Informal meeting of Competitiveness Ministers (San Sebastián)

8-11: European Parliament plenary session (Strasbourg)

11: Informal meeting of European heads of state and government to discuss the economy (Brussels)

12-13: Informal meeting of Transport Ministers (La Coruña)

15: Eurogroup (Brussels)

15: Education, Youth and Culture Council (Brussels)

16: Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Brussels)

17-18: Informal meeting of Development Ministers (La Granja, Segovia)

21: Working dinner for Trade Ministers (Brussels)

22: Agriculture & Fisheries Council (Brussels)

22: General Affairs and Foreign Affairs Council (Brussels)

24-25: Informal meeting of Defence Ministers (Palma de Mallorca)

24-25: European Parliament plenary session (Brussels)

25-26: Justice and Home Affairs Council (Brussels)

March 2010

1-2: Competitiveness Council (Brussels)

5-6: Informal meeting of Foreign Ministers (Gymnich-type meeting) (Cordoba)

7-8: EU-Morocco Summit (Granada)

8-9: Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumers Council (Brussels)

8-11: European Parliament plenary session (Strasbourg)

11-12: Transport, Telecoms and Energy Council (Brussels)

15: Eurogroup (Brussels)

15: Environment Council (Brussels)

16: Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Brussels)

16-18: Informal meeting of Territorial Cooperation Ministers (Málaga)

22-23: General Affairs Council and Foreign Affairs Council (Brussels)

24-25: European Parliament plenary session (Brussels)

25-26: European Council (Brussels)

25-26: Informal meeting of Equality Ministers (Valencia)

29: Agriculture and Fisheries Council (Brussels)

30-31: Informal meeting of Culture Ministers (Barcelona)

April 2010

9-10: EU-Pakistan Summit (Madrid)

13-14: Informal meeting of Education Ministers (Madrid)

16-18: Informal meeting of Economic and Financial Affairs Ministers (Madrid)

17: Informal meeting of Economic and Financial Affairs Ministers + ASEM (Madrid)

18-20: Informal meeting of Telecoms Ministers (Granada)

19-20: Agriculture and Fisheries Council (Luxembourg)

19-22: European Parliament plenary session (Strasbourg

20-21: Informal meeting of Sports Ministers (Madrid)

22-23: Justice and Home Affairs Council (Luxembourg)

22-23: Informal meeting of Health Ministers (Madrid)

26: General Affairs Council + Defence Council (Luxembourg)

May 2010

4-5: Informal meeting of Fisheries Ministers (Vigo)

5-6: European Parliament plenary session (Brussels)

10: General Affairs Council and Foreign Affairs Council + Development Council (Brussels)

10-11: Education, Youth and Culture Council (Brussels)

13-14: EU-Mexico Summit (Santander)

15-19: EU-Latin America and Caribbean Summit (Madrid)

17: Eurogroup (Brussels)

17: Agriculture & Fisheries Council (Brussels)

17-20: European Parliament plenary session (Strasbourg)

18: ECOFIN Council (Brussels)

18-19: Informal meeting of Ministers for the Disabled (Zaragoza)

24: EU-United States Summit (Madrid)

25-26: Competitiveness Council (Brussels)

30: EU-Russia Summit (Rostov)

30-31: Informal meeting of Agriculture Ministers (Merida)

31: Telecoms and Energy Council (Brussels)

31: EU-Canada Summit (Brussels)

June 2010

1: Informal meeting of Agriculture Ministers (Merida)

3-4: Justice and Home Affairs Council (Luxembourg)

5-7: Union for the Mediterranean Summit (Barcelona)

7: Eurogroup (Luxembourg)

7-8: Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumers Council (Luxembourg)

8: Economy and Finances Council (Luxembourg)

14: General Affairs Council and Foreign Affairs Council + Development (Luxembourg)

14-17: European Parliament plenary session (Strasbourg)

17-18: European Council (Brussels)

21: Environment Council (Luxembourg)

21-22: Informal meeting of Housing and Urban Development Ministers (Toledo)

24: Transport Council (Luxembourg)

28-29: Agriculture and Fisheries Council (Luxembourg)

Factsheet

President of the Spanish Government

José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero

Juan Cierco

Director General de Información Internacional

Secretaría de Estado de Comunicación

Tel: (+34) 91 321 40 61

email: juan.cierco@mpr.es

Foreign Minister

Miguel Angel Moratinos

Julio Albi de la Cuesta

Director General de Comunicación Exterior

Tel: (+34) 91 379 93 42

Mobile: (+34) 618 200 413

email: julio.albi@maec.es

Economic and Finance Minister

Elena Salgado

Bruno Pérez Vázquez

Asesor de Comunicación Gabinete Prensa Vicepresidencia Segunda

Ministerio de Economía y Hacienda

Tel: (+34) 91 595 56 39

Mobile: (+34) 669 825 510

email: bruno.perezv@meh.es

Justice Minister

Francisco Caamaño Domínguez

Ángela Torija Tendero

Directora de Programas de Información

Ministerio de Justicia

Tel: (+34) 91 390 22 70

Mobile: (+34) 695 913 516

email: angela.torija@mjusticia.es

Interior Minister

Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba

María Jesús Gallego Estremera

Subdirectora de Información

Ministerio del Interior

Tel: (+34) 91 319 20 94

email: prensa@mir.es

Defence Minister

Carme Chacon

Georgina Higueras Rumbao

Tel: (+34) 91 395 57 03/04

Mobile: (+34) 649 486 877

email: ghigueras@minisdef.es

Equality Minister

Bibiana Aído

Gabriela Aldea

Portavoz para la UE del Ministerio de Igualdad

Ministerio de Igualdad

Tel: (+34) 91 524 32 18

Mobile: (+34) 630 874 193

email: galdea@migualdad.es

Secretary of State for European Affairs

Diego Lopez Garrido

Cristina Villalba

Jefa de Prensa del Gabinete del Secretario de Estado para la Unión Europea

Tel: (+34) 91 379 83 23

Mobile: (+34) 696 38 27 04

email: prensa@ue.maec.es

Spain's Permanent Representative to the EU

Carlos Bastarreche

Spain's Representative on the Policy and Security Committee

Carlos Enrique Fernandez Arias Minuesa

Spokesperson

Cristina Gallach Figueras

Tel.: +32 (0) 2 509 86 30

Email: cristina.gallach@preper.maec.es

Press Officer

Ana de Miguel Langa

Tel: +32 509 86 24

email: ana.demiguel@reper.mae.es

Further information can be found on the Spanish Presidency's website: http: //http://www.eu2010.es