Press conference by President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay and the President of the Government

Montevideo

Mr. Vázquez.- A very good day to you all.

Firstly, I would like in my own name and on behalf of the people and Government of Uruguay, to extend a very warm welcome to the President of the Government of Spain and those who have come here with him, the distinguished delegation accompanying the President of the Government. The presence of the President of the Government and his delegation is a tremendous honour for us, but also gives us great satisfaction and we are grateful for the ongoing support that Spain has shown to our country.

At this time in which relations between our two countries are excellent, we have talked with the President of the Government of Spain about working together to further step up these already close relations.

We have spoken about various issues, from international politics to the national politics of each of our countries, as well as regional affairs, and we have agreed to work along several lines to make further progress on this relationship between our two countries, which is so positive.

By way of example, we could mention that both Uruguay and Spain support each other and work closely to achieve, or try to achieve, that during the course of this year, extensive and decisive progress is made on the Free Trade Treaty between the European Union and MERCOSUR. The political conditions that prevail in both trading blocs at this time lead us to feel truly optimistic that this agreement will be reached.

At a national level, and between our two countries, we also agreed to give a renewed boost to the General Treaty on Cooperation and Friendship that Spain and Uruguay signed in 1992, when Uruguay was headed up by Luis Alberto Lacalle. Between then and now, only one high-level meeting has been held, that is, between the foreign affairs ministers of our two countries, to tackle the issue of migration, and that was back in 2006. We believe that, given the current immigration situation at a global level, it would be appropriate to hold a second high-level meeting, that would thus allow us to address other bilateral issues in the near future.

I thus wish, given these two examples of agreements and shared approaches between our two governments, Mr President of the Government, to give you and your delegation a warm welcome and I hope that you feel at home here. Thank you very much.

President of the Government.- Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, a very good day to you all.

It is an honour for me to appear here before all of you alongside President Vázquez on the occasion of this visit to Uruguay. This is my first bilateral visit to Uruguay as President of the Government and I wish to take the opportunity of this press conference to publicly thank President Vázquez for the invitation he made to me during his visit to Spain last year.

It is no secret that Uruguay is a country that is particularly close to Spain and that this visit, for me, as a Spaniard and also because I am from Galicia, was particularly exciting for me. Yesterday, at a mass event with the Spanish colony here, I had the chance to feel this fraternal relationship for myself and I believe the fact that the Spanish colony here in Uruguay is the largest in the world in comparison with the size of the host country says everything about our ties.

Within the framework of the talks I have held today with President Vázquez, we have had the opportunity to address the situation in both countries, our bilateral relations and the regional situation.

I congratulated President Vázquez on the good progress of the Uruguayan economy which, in an extremely complex regional framework, has managed to avoid a recession and has now enjoyed three straight years of growth. I believe that the stability, foreseeability and legal certainty that characterise Uruguay are closely related to this good progress. However, that does not mean that we don't need to work hard each day, in both Uruguay and in Spain, to offer increasing opportunities to our respective citizens.

President Vázquez explained to me the ambitious economic plans of his government, particularly in the field of infrastructures. As you know, Spain is the leading investor in the services sector; our commitment to Uruguay is ongoing and I am absolutely convinced that it will be even further enhanced. I offered President Vázquez all our support for his government's plans and I believe, in all honesty, that Spanish companies, which are leaders in many strategic sectors for Uruguay, will be able to do their small part in achieving these. I personally witnessed this interest at the Business Meeting we held this morning.

I also want to mention Spanish Cooperation here, which is an important benchmark in the Southern Hemisphere, with a training centre, a technical office and a cultural centre. Decades of work have been done together with Uruguay and with other Latin American countries and third countries. Acknowledging here the dedicated work of our aid workers and NGOs means recognising that cooperation constitutes, as in the work of our companies, a benchmark of Spain's presence around the world.

Spain is, as you know, a country with both a European and an American vocation. That is why, and I wish to stress whilst in this city, the headquarters of MERCOSUR, that we will continue to back the free trade agreement between the European Union and MERCOSUR through our relations with the EU, which are currently at the negotiation stage. This agreement will enable two regions that share values and are hubs of stability and prosperity in a volatile world, and not only in purely economic terms, but also at a political level and in terms of cooperation, to come closer together. I am firmly convinced that in this case, as in so many others, unity and vision will not be divisive, but actually constructive; they step up one's potential instead of dividing and impoverishing.

We have also spoken about various issues on the regional agenda in Ibero-America. As unfortunately was only right and proper, we paid particularly close attention to the situation in Venezuela. The situation in this sister nation profoundly concerns us. A bloody confrontation in the country must be avoided at all costs and the current situation requires returning the final word to the people of Venezuela and starting to rebuild a nation consensus as soon as possible.

In short, this has been a very emotional visit to a country that is very close to the hearts of the Spanish people. The Business Meeting held this morning and today's meeting with President Vázquez and his team confirm that, however far we may have travelled together already, the best is yet to come for both our countries and for our bilateral relations. Our commitment is to continue working in that direction.

The degree of understanding between our two countries and governments is significant, and I am convinced that we are working in great harmony and in the right direction. To that end, I wish to thank President Vázquez and all the people of Uruguay for their warm welcome. Uruguay will always be able to count on the affection, friendship and loyal collaboration of the Spanish people. Thank you very much.

Q.- Teresa Fernández-Cuesta, from Tele 5. I would like to address the President of the Government of Spain. Mr President of the Government, I wanted to ask you firstly about the economic conclusions you take away in the form of opportunities for Spain following this trip to Brazil and Uruguay.

Secondly, and in relation to what is happening in our country - my reference is to the arrest of Ignacio González, business leaders charged, public prosecutors being called into question, some meetings and even a text message from a member of the government - what do you believe the Spanish people are thinking and what do you have to say to them?

President of the Government.- Those are two very different questions: one directly related to my visit to Uruguay, and to Brazil as well, and another which is a purely domestic issue. I will try to respond to them as swiftly as possible.

I think that this visit has been very positive, both in Brazil and, most particularly, here in Uruguay. Following a complicated year in Spain, as you all know, in 2016 - for 10 months, the government I then headed up operated as a caretaker government; we had to repeat, as you are also well aware, the elections; in the end, a new government was formed and I was once again sworn in as President of the Government on 31 October - we must now resume an agenda that is fundamental for our country, which is the international agenda. Over the course of 2016 we met our commitments, as is clear, particularly at the meetings of the G-20, NATO, the different meetings held by the European Union, the European Council and the ministerial meetings of the EU; but it is very important to now resume our bilateral agenda with other countries.

In reality, this is my first visit since that 31 October, that date I just mentioned, at which we have held two bilateral meetings, one in Brazil and another here, in Uruguay. In all honesty, I believe that they have been very positive, firstly, because I have seen the good image people have of Spanish companies outside of our country. You will have heard me say on other occasions that, if Spain has started down the path to recovery and if things have changed, this has been for many reasons; but one of them, and we must acknowledge this, has been the efforts made by so many Spaniards that have opened up their vision to the rest of the world, that have gone overseas, that have found a way to export and that have found a way to carve out a life beyond our borders. This has been very important and decisive for the recovery of our country.

Secondly, I want to say that we have a wonderful level of cooperation with Uruguay, which, moreover, will be even better in the near future. As President Vázquez said in his speech a moment ago, the General Treaty on Cooperation, dating back to 1992, will be re-activated and re-launched and this will assuredly have many positive effects for everyone, and very soon.

Lastly, I want to say, before mentioning MERCOSUR, that there is a positive economic climate in Uruguay, as there also is in Spain, and the question is undoubtedly now one of being able to act intelligently and harness this opportunity.

And finally, one of the most important issues for me on this trip has been MERCOSUR. You know that this MERCOSUR-European Union agreement has been on the table for many years now. There have been discussions, talks, negotiations ground to a halt, but I think that there is now a wonderful opportunity. In fact, several meetings have already been held, the latest of which was held not long ago in Buenos Aires. There will be others. The European Union, through the Commission, has said that significant progress is now being made; we all think this and we are going to work hard to reach a political agreement before the end of the year.

I believe that this agreement will be good for companies, but this will also be good for people. It will be good for the people of Europe, but also for the people of Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil because, in the end, trade, going overseas, an external vision, is always a source of economic growth, job creation, and hence, of wealth and well-being.

Hence, I repeat, this trip has been very positive. I am, as I said to you at the beginning, very satisfied. For me, as a Galician and a Spaniard, to come to Uruguay is not to come to just any place. President Vázquez said to me that we would feel at home here and, in all honesty, I do feel at home here.

And now we get to the second question. I believe that I should say what I think about this issue at this time, which is what I have been doing for a long time now. I place all my trust in our system of justice, because I believe in the rule of law and I believe in the separation of powers. I will do, as I am doing, everything possible to facilitate this work, I would ask that the system of justice be allowed to work in peace and quiet and, I obviously, as ever, have one thing absolutely clear: those who commit the crime must pay.

But, in the same manner as I say this, I will also say that you cannot generalise; there are tens of thousands of people engaged in politics in Spain, defending different positions, and they have been engaged in this for many years, who are true public servants and hence, one should never generalise, not on this issue or indeed on any other.

Q.- Fabián Cardoso, from Uruguayan National Television. My question specifically relates to this advanced possibility of trade exchanges between MERCOSUR and the European Union. I wanted to ask the President of the Government of Spain about the next upcoming steps to be taken, aside from the statement of intent, to specifically speed up this agreement between MERCOSUR and the European Union. Also, can there be any other format for a preliminary mechanism prior to the signing of the much awaited Free Trade Agreement, as both countries have said?

President of the Government.- As I said, about a month ago the second round of negotiations was held in Buenos Aires. Significant steps have been taken, as I would remind you; that was announced by the European Commission and also by MERCOSUR. I believe that there will be another round of negotiations shortly. There are still some complex aspects that are pending and which will need to be resolved in the end, but the will is there, as asserted on many occasions… This is an issue that I have personally handled, because it is important to me. I believe that this is very positive. We are talking about a free trade zone affecting 700 million people and that means, as I said before, well-being, wealth and jobs.

Hence, there will be as many rounds of negotiations as need to take place and let's just hope that by the end of the year there will be some good news.

Whether this will lead to a free trade agreement or this will come from another form of preliminary agreement, I am not in a position to confirm to you at this time, but the main goal is to forge a free trade agreement. The European Union has recently signed a very important agreement of this nature with Canada; we also expect to definitively sign another one with Japan and the main goal is to firm up this agreement with MERCOSUR, which I hope, I repeat, will be reached before the end of the year.

Q.- Miguel González, from "El País". I wanted to ask you, in the first place, whether within the proposal that President Tabaré Vázquez made about the Uruguayan infrastructure plan, you tackled the infrastructures that must be built in order to start-up the new paper plant proposed by the Finish group in Uruguay.
And for the President of the Government, I wanted to come back to the issue my colleague enquired after. You said that the government respects the division of powers and collaborates with the justice system; however, the impression being conveyed, the image being portrayed in recent days is: a State Secretary receiving a person who is under investigation, a minister sending an SMS text message to someone who ends up being arrested and actions by the Anti-Corruption Public Prosecution that have led to Ciudadanos and the Socialist Party asking today for the Chief State Prosecutor and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor to be censured. We have also become aware, for example, that the People's Party knew years ago that Ignacio González had an account in Switzerland and yet, it would seem, did not act with the due diligence.

I would like to ask you if the government fears that it has lost credibility in the fight against corruption and if it is going to take any measures. I don't know if you plan to appear before the Lower House or do something to recover the initiative and credibility in the fight against corruption.

President of the Government.- Indeed, as you have said, a business decision has been taken that has not been shored up yet, I imagine because certain formalities need to be fulfilled which, as is clear, I am unaware of for the time being. This will then also give rise to an important investment being made in the railways, which Spanish companies are interested in and they will submit bids in the public tender if this ends up being put out, as they always do. Furthermore, this is a sector in which we are, as is well-known, very competent, and have a great deal of know-how and experience.

I simply expressed to him, at the meeting we held, that Spanish companies are ready and willing, they want to work and they want to do things well, on this matter and in any other public tender that may be put out.

As regards the second question you asked about various issues that I am not going to repeat, I wish to reaffirm what I stated earlier. No-one can say that under the governments of the People's Party the justice system has not acted with total and absolute independence. Furthermore, it is now, under the governments of the People's Party, that the system is acting and, as I said earlier, it is now that sentences are being handed down and the judges are taking the decisions they deem fit and opportune in the defence of the general interest and are also trying to ensure that the law is upheld in our country.

I am in favour of letting the judges work, of not arguing about their decisions - obviously the President of the Government is not going to argue with any of them in any way whatsoever - and, above all, I am in favour of those people who break the law being punished, provided, as is only right, this can be proved, because accusations, under a rule of law where there is a presumption of innocence, must be proven.

However, as I said, while I am President of the Government of Spain, the rule of law will be respected in Spain and the rule of law means subjecting everyone - whoever they may be, whether in government, whether MPs, whether from one party or another - to the law; but it also means there is a presumption of innocence and that people, until the opposite is proven because a judge says so, are innocent.

Q.- Alejandro Rodríguez, from Uruguayan National Radio. For the two leaders. It was mentioned that the issue of Venezuela was on the agenda today and I wanted to ask you about the content of the conversation held on this matter that affects both countries and, furthermore, what can specifically be done, and whether you spoke about this or not. What can the international community specifically do on this matter?

President of the Government.- I will try and explain this as clearly as possible. I want exactly the same for Venezuela and its people as I do for Spain and its people. I believe that the priority at this time is to avoid things becoming radical and for events take place that we will all later regret. That is what I believe is the priority. And secondly, the ideal situation would be to reach a political agreement that gave rise to democratic elections being held as they are held in the vast majority of countries in the world.

Those are the priorities in my opinion: avoiding a critical situation being reached and, secondly, for a political agreement in which the normal rules of any democracy are respected: no political prisoners, people voting, respecting the results of the elections and for there to be a clear and effective division of powers between the executive, the legislative and the judiciary.

I believe that any efforts must go in that direction. This requires reflection by those people with the greatest responsibility on this issue. That is my position.

Mr. Vázquez .- I want to mention the last two questions that relate to our country. As regards the investment that UPM is going to make in Uruguay, I should mention that we are still in the middle of negotiations. Senior management of UPM and the Government of Uruguay have been working on this for almost a year now. Eight bilateral committees have been set up, the majority of these have led to agreements being reached and there is now just one point to resolve in relation to the application of the wealth tax that exists in Uruguay which the company UPM wishes to be exempt from.

As we have always said in Uruguay, everything must fall within the confines of the Constitution and the law and nothing must be outside. Hence, the position of Uruguay is based on the existing law. At this time, the company UPM and its management, back in Finland, are considering these agreements we have reached, and we are waiting for their response to see where we now go on this issue.

That was in the first place. In second place, aside from the need to make progress on infrastructures to install the UPM plant, the Government of Uruguay has launched a Strategic National Infrastructure Plan amounting, since its first year, 2015, to some 12.5 billion dollars, which will be met with investments from the State, from private enterprise and through a public-private participation mechanism. And that is regardless of any agreement we reach with UPM.

In this regard, and in respect of infrastructures, I should say that tenders have already been awarded, are under way or the investment has been agreed for approximately 200 million dollars- the Minister for Transport and public Works can correct me if I am mistaken - for the construction of highways in Uruguay. The company awarded the contract is Spanish, which has a joint venture with a Uruguayan company, which has been firmed up, and I believe that in the coming days they are going to begin work on this issue. Similarly, there will definitely be other investments, which will be very welcome in our country.

As regards the issue of Venezuela, I expressed my opinion on this a few days ago in a television interview and we remain firm in our position that, first of all, we profoundly regret - we spoke about this with President of the Government Rajoy - the deaths that have occurred in Venezuela and we would fervently call for, and hope, that there are no more deaths as a result of these confrontations.

Secondly, we consider that the problems in Venezuela must be resolved by the people of Venezuela and must come from the peaceful resolution of the controversies, through dialogue, through seeking agreements that allow for the freedom of expression and the sovereignty of the people of Venezuela. That is what we are working for here in Uruguay.

If a meeting of the Organisation of American States is finally held, which may take place in the coming days, with the participation of the foreign affairs ministers of the country that make up this American organisation, Uruguay will maintain its position of not supporting the application of the Democratic Charter to Venezuela, because at this time, more than ever, we believe that we must not isolate Venezuela; we must lend a hand to support our sister nation so that this does not all end up in a regrettable situation in which we may also find ourselves regretting not having lent our support to the extent of our possibilities and respecting the sovereignty of the Venezuelan people in this regrettable and dramatic conflict unfolding in Venezuela. By the way, I would say that all of South America, all of Latin America and the Caribbean and the whole world is battling to see a peaceful solution to this problem in Venezuela.

Thank you very much.