Press conference by Prime Minister of Portugal and President of the Government, following 29th Portugal-Spain Summit

Vila Real (Portugal)

Mr. Costa.- Mr President of the Government of Spain, ministers, Mr President of the Municipal Council of Vila Real, whom we must thank for the very warm and friendly welcome we have received in the town of Vila Real, which is hosting this Portugal-Spain Summit.

We are bringing this Summit to a close here, at Mateus Palace, which began yesterday in Vega Terrón, and which allowed us, during the cruise down the River Duero, to work together at different bilateral meetings, and then end up here, at the plenary meeting of this Summit.

This Summit has had a core theme and a very ambitious goal: the issue of cross-border cooperation with the very ambitious goal of our border ceasing to be a separating line and becoming a point of union between our countries, our peoples, our universities and our companies, so that we can create a genuine Iberian community, since we already have a shared vision of Europe and a shared vision on the different issues affecting the world today.

In order to strengthen cross-border cooperation, we have taken the decision to set up a working group, directly dependent upon the President of the Government of Spain and the Prime Minister of Portugal, so that we can immediately start to prepare an integrated programme of cross-border cooperation for the years after 2020, such that we can present this for financing within the new Multiannual Financial Framework of the European Union.

Over the course of this last day and a half of work, we have managed to develop projects in six areas of great importance for cross-border cooperation:

On the issue of security, there is a very long standing tradition of excellent cooperation between our law enforcement and security services, and between our Civil Protection services, and we have now seen their scope of action extended. We have also agreed to strengthen the perspective for stepping up our cooperation on the ground in terms of joint training and to extend this joint work to a fundamental aspect for security between our two countries, which is road safety.

A second field is related to cooperation on scientific matters and higher education. Following on, in reality, from the joint meeting between the Council of Rectors of Portugal and Spain, it has been possible to agree to study the possibility of designing joint degrees, and joint certifications for establishment, in order to facilitate the mobility of students and graduates, and those with master's degrees and doctorates between our two countries.

An opportunity has been observed to make common use of very high-quality infrastructures, such as in the field of super-computers and other areas. We also agreed to develop the field of common research institutions, such as those deriving from the meeting held close to here, in Braganza, of the Mountain Research Network, as well as the new opportunities that are opening up for research in relation to the Atlantic or on space issues. In this regard, it has also been decided to work together to extend and develop a common project, which has been based in Braga for the last few years, which is the Nanotechnology Laboratory, and we want to contribute to its internationalisation together.

Another very important area is that of cooperation in relation to employment and training. It is important to highlight that two thirds of the new jobs created in the Eurozone over the last two years have precisely been created in Spain and in Portugal. Just today the most recent figures on employment in Portugal have been released and confirm that we have managed to lower the unemployment rate to less than 10% and, moreover, between March last year and March this year a total of 64,000 net jobs have been created in Portugal.

What we want is to continue sharing experiences on employment and training policies; strengthening cooperation between our employment services, above all in border regions, such that Portuguese and Spanish workers can reciprocally benefit from job opportunities that may arise on either side of the border, and hence, lay the foundations for a neighbourhood base for job creation that may benefit them.

We also want to step up cooperation in two new areas. One of these is the field of the social economy, promoting a periodic meeting between the National Social Economy Councils, and making a joint effort in the development of training, particularly to offer a response to very important strategic challenges that have been proposed for the acquisition of digital competences and to harness the revolution in the digital area, and in particular, of industry 4.0.

In the field of energy, steps have been taken that allow us to see that this very year the agreement on MIBGAS - the Iberian Gas Market - will be concluded; a fundamental instrument for our industries to benefit from more competitive and cheaper energy that allows the competitiveness of Iberian economies to be enhanced. In this regard, we will continue to work together to establish the interconnection of the Iberian Peninsula with the European market, as allies in the joint contribution that Portugal and Spain can make for Europe to have an improved environmental mix with cleaner energy, based on the opportunities that wind power, hydraulic power and, above all, solar power provide, for us to be able to contribute to Europe having better energy as a whole.

Another very important area relates to what was agreed on environmental issues. Next year we will celebrate 20 years since one of the most important agreements was signed between Portugal and Spain - the Albufeira Convention - which regulates our relations on water. The time has come to update this convention, taking into account both the new EU Directives on water, and the efforts that together we can and must make to provide a response in the fight against climate change. A very important piece of news is that we are going to jointly present an additional candidature for the creation of a new cross-border biosphere reserve. There are 16 cross-border biosphere reserves in the world and two of these 16 are precisely here on the Iberian Peninsula. We will now present another one, focused on the Tajo Internacional Park and we hope that this joint candidature will be well received by UNESCO.

Lastly, we have analysed the investments we are making on both sides of the border to strengthen road and rail connections. As regards roads, next week the Minister for Public Works of Spain and for Infrastructure Planning of Portugal will give the go-ahead for the renovation works on the bridge over the River Guadiana, in Vila Real de Santo Antonio. And the situation has also been assessed on the schedule for the execution of the different works on various stretches of the three main railway corridors: Porto-Vigo, Aveiro-Vilar Formoso, and Sines-Caia. I can now confirm that, for these works as a whole, one stretch on the Porto-Vigo link will be finished in 2018 and another in 2019; as regards the other two corridors: the Aveiro-Vilar Formoso and Sines-Caia stretches will be concluded between 2019 and 2021, by which time all of these areas will be fully electrified and completed.

Before giving the floor to the President of the Government of Spain, I wanted to add that, as well as these areas that clearly show the intensity and diversity of our cross-border cooperation, we even had the chance to closely review other forms of joint cooperation on the forums we are both members of: the European Union, the Ibero-American space and NATO. In this regard, we evaluated the efforts we can make in regard to the social economy, energy interconnections, further progress on the Economic and Monetary Union, support for Spain's candidature to take on Eurocontrol, and even the efforts at European Union unity in the post-Brexit era.

We have also analysed our concerted points of view on stepping up mutual cooperation in three very important areas: relations with Africa, with Latin America and with the transatlantic space. In this field, we will step up scientific cooperation in the area of the Mediterranean to improve food security and quality in the Mediterranean zone, and we will also strengthen operational cooperation between our armed forces for joint actions as part of the International Coalition against DAESH, in the area of the Gulf of Guinea, and we have received the good news that we will receive the support of the Spanish Air Force in the mission being undertaken by our forces deployed in the Central African Republic.

This cooperation is also being developed at the level of our security forces, with joint actions on the external border of the European Union, both in the area of the Mediterranean in the fight against terrorism, and in a unique innovative project under the European Union, which involves ensuring full interoperability between the coastal surveillance systems of Portugal and Spain.

Finally, we are going to jointly develop a programme to hold a global celebration of the first circumnavigation voyage, which will shortly see its 5th Centenary, which began with Fernando de Magallanes and ended with Juan Elcano. This was a great work, and certainly one of the greatest contributions that Portugal and Spain made in the past to the world and which we will now, on a joint basis, celebrate at a global level.

President of the Government.- Muito obrigado, Mr Prime Minister. Ladies and gentlemen, a very good afternoon to you all.

I want to start this brief speech by expressing my gratitude, in my own name and on behalf of all the members of government and collaborators that are here with me, for the excellent welcome from our host and good friend Antonio Costa, and from all those people that with him make up the Government of Portugal.

We are neighbours, we are friends, we are members of great projects for the future, the most important of which is undoubtedly the European Union, but we also have all sorts of other ties: language, history, geography… We arrived here by sailing down the River Duero, which Spain and Portugal share, as we do along with many others, and the most important thing is that we have wonderful bilateral relations, as well as the firm intention to maintain them in the future.

You are well aware of the Declaration we have approved at this Summit. You have just heard the speech given by the Prime Minister, who has summarised the most important issues we have addressed yesterday and today. The basic prevailing principle has been, as he mentioned in his speech, cross-border cooperation and the fundamental goal is for this cross-border cooperation to attend to the needs of the people that live in certain parts of Spain and Portugal, not in the main cities, but in border regions, and to improve the well-being and wealth of all of them.

The Prime Minister explained very well the issues of security, science, innovation and employment; and also the issues of energy, environmental affairs, infrastructures and European issues. Please allow me, in order not to repeat what you have already heard, to focus on two or three issues that seem very important to me from the point of view of Spain.

Firstly, the working group that will be set up in relation to the European Budget for the year 2020, with the aim of having established very clearly defined projects on our borders, which are very extensive, as you know, and hence act swiftly and, above all, together. We will do that. This will be a well thought-out process; it will be a job well done and I believe that it will definitely be something very useful.

Secondly, the efforts and coordination on the matter of railways also seem very important to me, when talking about infrastructures. These are three very important corridors, where transport times for passengers and goods will be significantly reduced, which will help us to gain in competitiveness. These lines are Sines-Lisbon-Madrid, Aveiro-Salamanca and Porto-Vigo. Collaboration on this matter will undoubtedly be exceptional and I also believe that this will prove to be very useful in the future.

Thirdly, I wanted to mention the increase in energy interconnections between us through France… A very important meeting was held some time back in Madrid, attended by the President of the European Commission, the President of the French Republic, the Prime Minister of Portugal and myself. We would like to make further progress on this matter, which is also fundamental for the competitiveness of the Spanish economy.

Fourthly, our unconditional and strong condemnation of terrorism and the maintenance of our collaboration, which is proving to be very good at this time, as it is also proving in the fight against DAESH, as the Prime Minister reminded us in his speech.

On the matter of Europe, we have spoken about Brexit; we have also spoken about the need to continue developing the content of the agreements reached in Bratislava and to make progress on European integration. Europe is a process that has been going on for more than 60 years now; progress has been made little by little, key steps have been taken although there are matters that have yet to be resolved. It is fundamental to continue moving forward on defence issues, on integration, and also on foreign policy, on security policy and continuing to complete Banking Union once and for all, and to start talking in earnest about Fiscal Union; all of the efforts that have been made over this time to have a good Economic and Monetary Union.

We have also spoken about some international affairs and I would like to very briefly mention MERCOSUR. I believe that we are in a position at this time to reach a good agreement with the countries that make up MERCOSUR. Portugal and Spain are constantly striving vis-à-vis the European Union and the Commission, and I believe that progress has been made and that we could hear some good news by the end of this year, 2017. Recently I had the chance to spend time with the Presidents of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, and they also have a firm will to reach an understanding on this matter.

Lastly, we are going to sign up to this great trip that Magallanes made, which started off close to here and was then taken up by Elcano. The people of Spain and of Portugal have fine histories behind us. We have done many things over the course of history, many things together, and the most important thing is that we are going to continue doing them, increasingly better and always in a more united fashion.

Thank you very much.

Q.- We have seen the harmony between the two leaders at this Summit, despite their ideological differences and, given that Pedro Sánchez quotes the Government of António Costa as his benchmark in Europe, do both of you believe that it will be possible to reach an understanding between the leader of the PSOE [Spanish Socialist Workers' Party] and the President of the Government of Spain during this legislature?

For the President of the Government of Spain. Following yesterday's events, do you plan to hold a round of consultations or form a board of pro-Constitution parties to tackle the pro-sovereignty process in Catalonia? Are you calm following your conversation with Mr Sánchez on this matter?

President of the Government.- I will take the second and third questions. I will start with the third.

Calm? I don't know whether you remember, but the day after Mr Sánchez was elected as General Secretary, I appeared before you at my party's headquarters, in Madrid, in Génova Street, following some very important events that had taken place, particularly on the issue of Catalonia. I was asked about this issue and I said that I had no doubts whatsoever that the Socialist Party was going to adopt the position that its voters and members have always adopted, which is in support of the Constitution, national unity and national sovereignty. Hence, this has been a ratification of everything we all expected and I must say that this is a very positive circumstance and fact that has taken place.

As regards the second question, that is a little procedural. What is important is that we agree on the heart of the matter. Whether we then form a board or not, what is important is that we continue to talk, that we reach an agreement, that there is a general agreement on the steps to be taken, and I think that this is happening at this time. Form a board? I haven't thought about that, quite frankly. What is important is to see dialogue, for us to agree and that we are all have clear that we are going to defend such essential principles as national sovereignty and the unity of our country, Spain, which is the country that has been united for the longest period of time of all the countries in the European Union.

Mr. Costa.- As in all democratic countries, there are several political families in Portugal and in Spain. But, regardless of the political families that exist in Portugal or in Spain, there is a government in Portugal and there is a government in Spain, and our rules are simple: we are always friends of the governments in Spain and it is with the Government of Spain that we must work, that we want to work with and that we like working with. Over the course of this year and a half, we have had excellent relations. I had the chance to once delegate the representation of Portugal at the European Council to the President of the Government of Spain because I had to catch a plane and someone had to represent Portugal. Of course, the best friends and the best neighbours are those that can best represent us.

We have seen, with great satisfaction, that the end of the electoral cycles in Portugal and in Spain have allowed us to resume the normal course of these annual summits, which was interrupted last year and which henceforth will maintain their continuity each year, naturally, because the people of Portugal and the people of Spain want our governments to help do what they do every day, which is to strengthen relations in relation to the Iberian Peninsula, which is what falls to us to do. Everything else is a political option that the Spanish people make and the Portuguese people make. We will absolutely continue to be good friends and that is how we want to work together.

Q.- We know that there is one issue that has not officially been addressed, the Almaraz power station, but I believe, and we all believe, that this is an issue that remains pending. This question is for both of you. I wanted to ask the President of the Government of Spain whether he intends to extend the concession beyond 2020. And for the Prime Minister of Portugal, to what extent will Portugal concede ground on this issue?

President of the Government.- Indeed, as you have said, we have not discussed the Almaraz power station, probably because it is the issue we have most talked about in recent times. So, I believe that everything that needs to be said has been and, if there is something to talk about in the future then we will do exactly that: talk.

Mr. Costa.- You couldn't have put it better; you could only have said it in Portuguese. We haven't addressed that issue here, we spoke about it on several occasions in the past. The things we spoke about were resolved and well resolved. If new questions arise in the future, we will address them again and rest assured that we will resolve them well, as we have resolved the questions in the past.

Q.- I wanted to ask President of the Government Rajoy what he thinks about being summoned to officially testify in the "Gürtel case" and not by video-conference. Do you continue to trust the anti-corruption prosecutor? Will the preliminary agreement on the Budget give stability to this legislature?

President of the Government.- Those are three questions. As regards the second, I would say "yes".

On the first question, I will say the same as I have been saying since the outset of this event: I am at the court's disposal.

And on the issue of the Budget, this will mean that if everything happens as we expect, that there is a Budget for this year, 2017. I think that this is very positive, because this Budget contains measures that will continue helping generate economic growth and new jobs, which is the most important goal of the government at this time.

The Prime Minister reminded us in his speech that two thirds of the jobs created in Europe - these are Eurostat figures, not figures published by the Government of Portugal or the Government of Spain - have been created in Spain and in Portugal. The Budget serves precisely to that end: in order to create 500,000 jobs in Spain this year and to increase spending on the key main public services, which are education and healthcare, which depend on the regional governments, which will receive more than 5 billion euros more than in the last Budget. Hence, I believe that this is wonderful news.

Q.- Two quick questions regarding the economy for both Heads of Government. First, the leadership of the Eurogroup is under discussion and I wanted to ask whether, although informally, you have spoken about this leadership. And I wanted to ask Mr Rajoy whether any progress has been made on the candidature of Mario Centeno. Will he receive Spain's support?

And a quick question for the Prime Minister. Now that Portugal has exited the excessive deficit procedure, do you expect the ratings agencies to quickly upgrade their rating and the analysis they make in relation to Portugal?

Mr. Costa.- It is clear that today's situation in Portugal is very different to the situation in 2011. Hence, it would make no sense to keep the same rating as if nothing had happened since 2011. The fact that the European Commission has proposed that Portugal should exit the excessive deficit procedure backs this notion and it is the European Commission itself that acknowledges the confidence in the future of the Portuguese economy so that, in a lasting and sustainable manner, we have a deficit that complies with European rules and that we maintain a sustained debt reduction path.

We had a good primary balance last year and we will have the best primary balance in the Eurozone this year. We will continue reducing the deficit and, above all, we are going to substantially reduce our debt. We now have a stable financial system, and hence, we are growing at a very strong rate; as you know, the first quarter saw growth of 2.8%. All of these signs point to us stepping up our rate of growth again in this quarter. An announcement was made today that we have created 164,000 net jobs in the last year; we have reduced the unemployment rate by more than two percentage points and we are on the threshold of seeing the rate fall below 10%.

Hence, there are no economic indicators that don't state the obvious: the rating must be revised, and hence, when this happens, it will certainly not come as a surprise.

Portugal and Spain share common perspectives on the future of the Eurozone. We have always said that we would positively view any future candidature of the Spanish minister to head up the Eurogroup and that he could count on our support. Minister Centeno has already said that, if this question is raised, he is available. I would like to clarify that the rule is that the President of the Eurogroup must be a minister, and hence, no-one stops being a minister to be the President of the Eurogroup; the functions are fused and moreover, to be President of the Eurogroup you must be a minister.

It is natural that in the coming months there is a change in the Eurogroup; that is only natural, and what is important is that the next president has a vision on the future of the Eurozone that coincides with what the Governments of Portugal and Spain have stated on the future of the Eurozone.

President of the Government.- We always prefer to see friends rather than someone unknown.

Mr. Costa.- Thank you.