Commissievoorzitter Barroso is positief over resultaten Spaans voorzitterschap (en) - Hoofdinhoud

The President of the European Commission, José Manuel Durao Barroso i and the President of the Spanish Government, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero i, talk outside the session of the European Parliament i, which reviewed Spain's Presidency of the EU.

On Tuesday, the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, congratulated the Spanish Presidency for its "wise and positive" work during a six-month period that has been, he said, "among the most difficult" that the European Union has seen.

In his speech to the European Parliament following the address by the President of the Spanish Government, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, to review the six-month presidency, Barroso pointed out that Spain assumed the EU presidency in January, when the Treaty of Lisbon became effective, and "a moment of profound transition" in relations between the European institutions began.

The Spanish Presidency also coincided with "a time of great economic tension, especially in the Eurozone i," said Barroso, who stated that "the Presidency's strong commitment to Europe has been essential in meeting these challenges".

The President of the Commission, who delivered most of his speech in Spanish, said he was very satisfied with the work with Spain to face these challenges, in particular to design a new agenda for growth.

With the 2020 Strategy, he said, "For the first time a global approach has been taken, with a strengthened co-ordination policy and financial market reforms which will help to mobilise every instrument to promote growth".

He stressed that the Spanish Presidency "has been instrumental in reaching agreements that provide goals for the strategy such as 'employment, education, innovation, the environment and social integration", and he praised President Zapatero's "strong personal commitment to Europe and to the Community spirit and approach".

Barroso also highlighted agreements such as that reached between European institutions to implement the EU diplomatic service or the agreement signed with the United States to exchange financial data in the fight against terrorism."Spain has been the guarantor of a great responsibility" at the head of the EU, and has worked and achieved results in "issues that concern citizens," he said.

Political groups

In the debate that followed Zapatero's speech, there was recognition of specific achievements, such as those with Latin America and the Caribbean, progress in the area of healthcare and in favour of the citizens' initiative and contributions to the 2020 Strategy.

"We have seen how the EU has had to face enormous challenges and Spain, with great responsibility, has redoubled its efforts to produce results," said Socialist party leader Martin Schultz.

Other Members of Parliament were critical however, about the cancellation of the summit with the US, or the Mediterranean summit, both scheduled for this six-month period. Other criticisms, including from Popular party member Jaime Mayor Oreja, was that Spain was "unable to participate in the solution because it was part of the problem" due to its economic situation.

Members of Parliament from environmental and left parties also made calls to abandon the system of rotating presidencies now that there are permanent institutions in the EU.

Zapatero replied that there have been major agreements with the US and that "in relation to the Union for the Mediterranean it was not prudent to hold the summit, which does not mean the projects have stalled, and it will be held when it can contribute to peace in the Middle East".

"The important thing was that the 2020 Strategy was approved, and it was approved; the important thing is to approve a mechanism for financial support to countries, and it was approved; the important thing is that the package of financial supervision is ready," Zapatero said before referring to "the whole narrative of agreements" of the six-month period, saying that "all have contributed their momentum to the Spanish Presidency".