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The Spanish Presidency of the EU finishes
24.06.2010, 14:01
It's been six months since the Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has been in the EU presidency.
The event of the presidency was held on
December 3 in Madrid
with members of the European Parliament.
In that act Zapatero assured that Spain would work "in full
cooperation and loyalty" to the new positions created by this Treaty, which are
redefined the traditional functions of the rotating presidencies and the
Commission and the Parliament.
The Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, pledged to give a "decisive momentum to the construction of Europe" for the Presidency of the EU, which coincides that period with the "new beginning" for the entry into force the Treaty of Lisbon.
According to Zapatero, Spain is assuming the Presidency at a ‘key moment for the Union, Spain and the world' given that we are in the process of recovering from the worst economic crisis in decades.
To achieve this, a more coordinated, social and sustainable model of economic growth is necessary.
"If anything, the crisis demonstrated is the necessity of coordination to respond to the challenges of a globalized economy. If the Union have a common market and common currency, economic governance must also be common" Zapatero said.
After a six month period marked by the Treaty of Lisbon coming into effect and by extraordinary decisions to tackle financial certainty in the Union, the Spanish Presidency of the EU practically concluded its mandate on Thursday 17 June with a European Council, which above all was marked by the economy issues.
During these months, the EU has tackled the world-wide
financial crisis by adopting measures to protect the stability of the Economic
and Monetary Union.
Specifically, an agreement was reached in May on an aid package for Greece. As well
as a European financial stabilization mechanism, which was finalized in June.
Therefore, in this semester, the foundations of much
stricter economic governance have been laid, with the commitment to take all
necessary measures in order for European economies to return to sustainable and
job-creating growth.
To this end, on Thursday June 17th, the EU-27 adopted the "Europe
2020", the framework that will enable the Union to mobilized all its
instruments and policies, and enable the member states to act with greater
coordination, promoting structural reforms and unblocking the potential for growth.
In terms of climate change, the European Council took note of a Commission communication which analyses the possibilities of bettering the 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and which also evaluates the risk of carbon leakage.
About the fiscal restructuring and financial stability the EU countries agree on the urgent need to strengthen the coordination of their economic policies. For this reason, they want to reach an agreement on initial positions relative to the Stability and Growth Pact and budget surveillance, as well as a more general macroeconomic supervision.