H.E. Mr. Ion de la Riva:

I wish buenos días, or maidin mhaith, to the distinguished Deputies and Senators. It is an honour to present our priorities for the EU Presidency at the meeting today. I thank the committee for the opportunity.

We are five days into the Spanish Presidency. This will be the fifth time Spain takes on this role since 1986, when we joined the forerunner of the EU, the European Community. As we did the first time, we will spare no efforts to make this Presidency a dynamic success. Spain is one of the most pro-European countries. There is ample awareness among my countrymen that if Spain is a modem, open and democratic society, it is largely thanks to our membership of the EU.

Our country will take over the EU Presidency at a crucial and critical time. Elections to the European Parliament will be held in June next year. After that, a new Commission will be elected. The terms of both the European Parliament and the Commission will soon come to an end. The Spanish Presidency, therefore, will be the last full Presidency of the current Commission. This comes with the heavy responsibility of trying to wrap up a huge number of dossiers, while at the same time presenting us with the unique opportunity of putting forward fresh new initiatives. The Spanish Presidency is a nationwide project. We have all been working on it for almost two years, putting in place all the necessary supporting structures. An open discussion was recently held in both Chambers of the Parliament, with the entire political spectrum and all political parties having a say in the shaping of this consensual Spanish Presidency.

The first point I make is to offer a political disclaimer to members. Our programme is flexible. It must be so if we are to be able to respond quickly and powerfully to a war crisis in which our values and security are at stake. This is the lesson we have learned. During their Presidency, the French had to deal with the Russian aggression against Ukraine as much as the two previous EU Presidencies had to take on the pandemic. A black swan should not be ruled out. Should that black swan materialise, in the form of migration, financial turmoil or who knows what, a number of adjustment mechanisms will be set off both to confront the challenge and drive forward priority files.

The second point concerns Ukraine. We will keep on supporting its brave resistance to the criminal Russian aggression with military, financial, humanitarian and political support. Our unity in this matter is our main strength.

Third, I offer a word on the people. A cross-cutting concern of this Presidency will be to deliver for our citizens and help them with their daily lives in these volatile times. The motto of the Spanish Presidency is "Europa, más cerca", which means "Europe, closer to you".

Having made those three points, I will now outline the four priority lines of actions that will inspire our Presidency. These are: reindustrialisation and open strategic autonomy; the green and digital transitions; greater social and economic justice; and strengthening European unity and co-operating with our like-minded democratic allies worldwide. The first action, reindustrialisation and open strategic autonomy, will be the main point of the agenda of the informal European Council that will be held in Granada on 4 and 5 October. Many of the difficulties our citizens have experienced in recent years have a common denominator, namely, our excessive dependence on a small number of third countries and the need to derisk our economies. We need to strengthen our autonomy in sectors that are fundamental to the day-to-day lives of our citizens, such as energy, health, food and digital and artificial intelligence, AI, technologies.

To this end, it is essential to support the reindustrialisation of our countries, together with the diversification of our sources of supply towards our most reliable international partners in essential commodities. This is why Latin America has become a crucial region in geopolitical terms, not only for Spain but also for the wider European Union. Spain would like to see the EU and Latin American countries agree an agenda for the future, based both on shared interests and strategic partnerships. It would like this agenda to be driven forward and regularly updated by a structured and permanent dialogue that serves as the backbone to a re-energised biregional relationship. This is our transatlantic vision, which is incomplete without Latin America. This will also be our approach to the EU-CELAC summit on 17 and 18 July. Spain will propose a forward-looking comprehensive strategy to ensure the economic security and global leadership of the EU, in line with the work of the European institutions and the roadmap agreed in Versailles in March 2022 by the leaders of all 27 member states. We have been working on this strategy since September 2022 in close co-operation with 80 ministries from all member states. There is no precedent in Europe for this exercise in foresight.

I turn now to the green transition and environmental resilience. Curbing climate change and environmental degradation is both an urgent need and an opportunity. We have to reduce drastically our dependency on fossil fuels via renewables. We have to lower electricity bills to make European companies more competitive, and we have to create jobs. In this regard we will promote a reform of the electricity market designed and aimed at speeding up the deployment of renewable energies, the reduction of electricity prices and the improvement of the system's overall stability. In the energy field we will also work on important dossiers such as the gas and hydrogen package. We will also promote legislation for the reduction of waste and microplastics, the design of sustainable products and the generation of green fuels. All of this seeks to ensure the EU will remain at the forefront of the global fight against climate change, while creating wealth and new opportunities.

On the promotion of greater social and economic justice, Spain will foster an economic justice forum in the EU. An even more competitive economy is needed, but it must also be fairer and more compassionate. Both objectives are compatible. We need to strengthen the foundations of our welfare states. We will work hard on the review of the multi-annual financial framework until 2027. We will also work on an adequate reform of the economic governance rules to increase transparency and combine the sustainability of public finances with the proper financing of social services and the green and digital transitions. Finally, Spain will advocate for stronger protection of vulnerable groups such as children, women suffering from violence and people with disabilities. Among the various files in the social field, I am proud to say that the European disability card will be our priority.

In an international context marked by growing geopolitical tensions, strengthening European unity is a must. The EU must remain united. There is huge strength in our unity. Member states must continue to develop tools that enable us to act together. In doing so, we stand a better chance of successfully confronting the challenges of our time and attaining peace in Ukraine. It is for the same reason - our unity is our main strength - that Spain will advocate for the deepening of the Internal Market, for a genuine banking and capital market union, and for the improvement of our common financial instruments such as NextGenerationEU funds. We will also advocate for better and simpler decision-making processes in the EU. We will build on the recent agreement reached by the Council on asylum and migration because this position will be the basis of negotiations by our Council Presidency and the European Parliament over the coming months. We will do our best to steer those negotiations to a successful end. Migrants are needed in an ageing Europe. It is demography that speaks. However, we need to stop human trafficking and smuggling and avoid humanitarian catastrophes.

In short, we will devote our efforts to advance and conclude dozens of ongoing dossiers that will directly impact the well-being of the European citizen. As mentioned, Latin America and the Caribbean are regions of overriding importance in geopolitical terms. We will have a summit later this month. We share fundamental interests and values with Latin America. Tapping into the potential of our bilateral relations will be vastly beneficial to both sides in terms of trade, investment, defence of human rights and climate change.

Again, Spain will strive to agree on a wide-ranging biregional agenda for the future, supported by a structured and permanent dialogue with Latin America. Spain knows too well the extent to which our stability and prosperity depends on the stability and prosperity of neighbouring EU countries. The eastern neighbourhood is now the understandable focus of our attention, but let us not be tempted to rob Peter to pay Paul. During our Presidency we will convene a southern neighbourhood summit, and boost the dialogue between the EU and its southern Mediterranean partners on key issues like migratory flows, food and energy security, water and environmental issues to name a few. The summit should also strengthen the foundations of our partnership with our southern neighbours, such as we are now witnessing with Tunisia. With a similar goal we are also working on the European Political Community, for which we will host a summit in Granada on 5 October. We support this forum as it is currently set up, in an open format. It has proven useful as a framework to enhance open exchanges on key geopolitical issues in Europe, such as open strategic autonomy.

Last, but not least, the Spanish Presidency will build on the new momentum in EU-US relations and keep reinvigorating transatlantic ties from Canada to Chile. In summary, over the past two years Spain has done its homework, and is now looking forward to taking over the EU Council Presidency. It is confident it will live up to the expectations placed on it to make the EU safer, fairer, more competitive and more sustainable. Go raibh maith agaibh. Forgive my Irish.