Brussels, 17/09/2003 (Agence Europe) - "I do not believe in Europe's cultural exception", Spanish Prime Minister José Maria Aznar affirmed in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. With 350 million Spanish-speakers on the other side of the Atlantic, "Spain has very strong transatlantic links that it cannot deny. For us, this transatlantic connection is an opportunity and a necessity for Europe", he commented.
Defending George Bush's "admirable" policy in Iraq, José Maria Aznar criticises the European press for delighting in the "difficulties encountered by the United States in Iraq". "If it is a failure in Iraq, Europe will be the first to suffer from the consequences", he said, adding that "failure in Iraq will be a failure for western values (…). I do not agree with the Europeans who think that, when things go badly for the United States, it means they are going well for Europe".
Believed to be one of the potential candidates for the presidency of the future Commission, José Maria Aznar explains that his main concern for Europe is the economy. "I am frightened to see that Europe has a growth problem and that we are now going to have more problems with growth and stability", he commented, alluding to the French and German deficit. "Instead of changing into one great economy, we are going in the opposite direction", the Spanish Prime Minister said, regretting the growing gap between Europe and the United States in military, technological and cultural matters.