Press conference by President of the Government after meeting with His Majesty, King Felipe VI

Marivent Palace, Palma de Mallorca

President of the Government.- Good afternoon. I appear here before you to take stock of the meeting I held with His Majesty the King, for the first time as President of the Government, here at Marivent Palace in Palma de Mallorca. And, as you know a new government means a new era. A new era that I described in the press briefing I gave at Moncloa Palace as an exciting new era, full of expectations, and also to claim back exemplary public service, which was fundamental after many years when our citizens missed this exemplary character. And also, a new era full of projects that will help Spain come out of its impasse, its lethargy and inaction that, in our opinion, it has suffered from in recent years.

A new government which also has a clear roadmap, that is well-defined and has clear boundaries and which decisively seeks to step up operations during the remaining years of this legislature. It basically has three clear pillars: the first, to bed down economic growth; the second, to create dignified employment, and the third, to redistribute growth, with the consolidation and reconstruction of our Welfare State, after many years of tough restrictions stemming from the economic crisis.

Well, this agenda, that we have chosen to call the "Agenda for Change" was the first point I addressed with His Majesty the King.

In relation to bedding down economic growth, I pointed out the positive growth differential of the Spanish economy, which will be floes to 2.7% of Gross Domestic Product by the end of the year. This differential is way above the European average, and of that of the main countries in the European Union and hence, I believe that from the point of view of economic growth, of economic recovery, of confidence of both investments and exports, and hence of the heightened competitiveness of the Spanish economy, and also of the trend of the risk premium, which stands at 100 basis points, we can say to the people of Spain that there is hope and reasonable optimism as regards the sound path of economic growth.

And it is true that the tourism sector figures here in the Balearic Islands, and in Spain as a whole, are, in all honesty, very positive. We have once again set all-time highs, but from the point of view of the Government of Spain, we should not just concentrate economic growth in tourism, or in the hotel and catering sector or in the construction sector. That is why this government proposes measures that are related to the re-industrialisation of our country and to also make a decisive commitment to science and innovation.

From an employment perspective, we have the Labour Force Survey figures. We also have the social security figures but it is true that we don't want to fall into self-complacency because there is still a great deal of structural unemployment. And it is unemployment that affects many of our young people. There is still labour discrimination and a wage gap, above all, for workers in our country. And also, of course, there is a great deal of inequality and many of our jobs are only temporary.

Hence, one of the points I also addressed with His Majesty the King was to propose to him the Master Plan for Dignified Work, or, if you look at this from another perspective, to combat inequality and labour exploitation.

There is a black economy, unfair competition which it is also important to uncover, among other issues so that these workers make National Insurance contributions and have more dignified jobs.

Thirdly, the reconstruction of the Welfare State, regarding which I informed the King of all the measures that the Council of Ministers has been setting in motion since the very outset of this term of office that began after the vote of no confidence: bringing back the universal nature of public health, the introduction of education grants, above all for the most needy families, and particularly for children that are victims of gender-based violence. We also want to unblock the State Pact to Combat Gender-based Violence which, although it was approved back in July last year, many of the legislative amendments proposed there are yet to be implemented. Nor indeed has the funding been implemented. At the last Council of Ministers, we released 100 million euros so that both local councils and regional governments can provide this necessary attention to women who are victims of gender-based violence, as well as to their children.

And within this endeavour to rebuild the Welfare State comes the increase in widowhood pensions, which was approved two weeks ago in the Council of Ministers. And this is also important for almost 30% of the boys and girls in this country who, as you know, suffer from child poverty and who, as a result of schools closing for the summer, do not have their meals, or logically, any leisure activities guaranteed.

One of the first measures taken by the new Government of Spain was precisely to implement the 'VECA programme' to guarantee leisure activities and food for children whose families are suffering from poverty or are at risk of poverty. This is the first of the pillars I spoke to His Majesty the King about. The second is related to migratory policy.

As you know, and as I mentioned the other day in the press briefing following the Council of Ministers, migration has not suddenly emerged under this government. What has emerged under this government is a migratory policy and what we have done from the outset includes firstly, coordinating all our efforts with other European countries. Secondly, we have stepped up cooperation and dialogue with the countries of origin and transit, particularly with the Kingdom of Morocco. And over recent weeks at the different Council of Ministers meetings we have approved, one, a 30-million euro Action Plan to take in migrants that reach our shores, and two, we have approved the creation of a single operational commander to coordinate all the efforts to tackle people trafficking migrants that unfortunately trade in these people. And of course, we are trying to avoid unlawful migration. I have informed His Majesty the King at today's meeting of all these proposals.

The third issue we discussed is cooperation with the regional governments and local authorities.

Precisely today the Sector Conference on Migration is meeting at the instigation of the Government of Spain, which hadn't met for some time now. Just look, in the two months since this Government of Spain came to power, 18 different sector conferences have been held, in very special and very important areas for the day-to-day lives of our citizens: in education, healthcare, transport, migration, the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council, and also to discuss regional financing and how to improve the financing of the different autonomous regions.

In short, I believe that the efforts the Government of Spain has made in these two months in power is significant in terms of institutional cooperation.

Of course we have also spoken about the bilateral committee between the Government of Spain and the Regional Government of Catalonia, which has not met in the last seven years. In September, work will begin on transfers of power, appeals against the unconstitutional nature of regional laws, transport policies, investment in transport, which are all also key for the Regional Government of Catalonia and for all the people who live there. And this will logically also address boosting investment in the Mediterranean Corridor.

In short, what I want to say is that I also informed the Head of State of the importance of this inter-institutional cooperation, above all, with the regional governments, for the Government of Spain.

Fourthly, we spoke about international politics, about foreign policy. I informed him about the visit by the President of the Republic of Ecuador to Spain. We also spoke about the different visits by senior European Commission officials to Spain, the latest, for example, by the Commissioner for Migratory Affairs to talk precisely about the migratory challenge affecting all of Europe, which obviously includes Spain. And I also informed the King that, as President of the Government, I will make an official visit to several Ibero-American countries at the end of August. And you will be informed in the days to come of the agenda of this trip, which we are still firming up.

I don't wish to end this introduction, which has gone on for a little longer than I hoped at the beginning, without saying the following: this is my first official visit as President of the Government, to the Balearic Islands. You know that I am going to meet with the regional president, Francina Armengol later, where we will be able to talk about some of the most pressing issues on the agenda of the Balearic Islands. And I would like to stress that this government, first of all, empathises with and appreciates the situation of the islands. And I believe that this has not only been conveyed in my speech but also in the government's actions: the 75% subsidy in flights from the Balearic Islands to the mainland has now been definitively approved. The frequency of flights from Minorca to Madrid has increased, which I also believe is something very important for many of the residents of the Balearic Islands. And, of course, the economic regime of the Balearic Islands is also on the table at this time which, as you are well aware, from the point of view of both the Regional Government of the Balearic Islands and the Government of Spain is an important issue.

I want to say that we will obviously do whatever is in our hands to ensure that sooner or later this economic regime can be approved for the Balearic Islands, which is fundamental for the well-being of all of the residents of these islands.

And finally, to go back to the beginning: a new government in a new era. This is a government that is working with a great deal of passion, with a great many expectations, which has its roadmap clear and which will not waste a single minute of time. There are many areas in which to push through institutional cooperation with the regional governments to guarantee this territorial cohesion. Rebuilding the Welfare State to strengthen this social cohesion which, unfortunately, has been diminished over recent years. Spain is one of the countries suffering from the greatest inequalities and to that you can then add all the adjectives you want to that statement: inter-generational inequality, gender inequality, territorial inequality. And, of course, this is a government that has clear that its main commitment is to give an exemplary example and to bed down our economic growth and create dignified jobs..

Hence, a new government, a new era and a clear roadmap to growth, job creation and social cohesion. And that is all I can say to you about this meeting. I will now take any questions.

Q.- Good afternoon. My name is Lucía Yeste, from Radio Nacional. I wanted to ask you, firstly - you haven't mentioned this but I imagine you will have firmed up the final details of your visit on the 17th to Catalonia. And, as President of the Government, I would like you to assess the statements made by the regional Catalan authorities that are hostile to the visit by the Head of State to Catalonia.

And now that you have mentioned exemplary conduct, if you will allow me, I would like your opinion on the decision of the judge to send the "master's case" relating to Pablo Casado to the Supreme Court, and whether this may affect the new Chairman of the People's Party (PP). Thank you.

President of the Government.- Well, as regards this last issue I think that the only thing that falls to me as President of the Government is not to assess any legal action that is under way. What the politicians concerned have to do is make an assessment, offer explanations to the public and that's that. What we want to do is respect all these legal proceedings and guarantee that they are performed with all due guarantees and as normally as possible.

As regards your first question, what I have to say is that we have indeed spoken about the presence of His Majesty the King at the acts to commemorate the first anniversary of the attacks in Barcelona and in Cambrils. And I can tell you that both the King and the Queen will attend this anniversary. And, from a more political perspective, I think it is important not to forget why we are all gathering in Barcelona and in Cambrils on 17 and 18 August. There can be no divisions in the fight against terrorism; we must all show our solidarity with the victims and their families. We are all going to be present there, each and every Spanish person. And I believe that this is what is important. We are talking about an expression of solidarity, of respect, of our acknowledgement of those people who lost their lives, of their families and of those cities that saw their way of life come under attack from people who do not exactly believe in this way of life and in those rights and liberties that each and every citizen throughout Spain defends. So, the Head of State will be attending - the King and Queen - and of course the government as well, respecting, acknowledging and showing this solidarity of the whole of Spanish society with the victims, their families and with these two cities that came under attack, which consequently means that the whole of Spanish society came under attack. I believe that this is what is important.

Q.- President of the Government, good afternoon, my name is Almudena Martínez-Forner, from the daily newspaper ABC. I wanted to specifically ask you what the government is going to do to support the King in response to this campaign of harassment he is suffering from the separatist authorities in Catalonia.

President of the Government.- What we are doing is treating such important events as those of 17 and 18 August with all normality. The Head of State will attend in representation of the whole of Spanish society, to pay his respects, and show his affection, empathy with the families of the victims, and to the victims of these attacks. And I believe that the vast majority of Catalan society and the vast majority of Spanish society empathise with this message.

Q.- How are you, President of the Government? My name is Nekane Domblás, from the newspaper Última Hora, from here in Majorca. You mentioned the King, so I would like to take the opportunity to ask you about another issue of great interest in these islands, which is financing. At this time, you have started your term of office by saying that there will be no financing during this term of office but we have heard some contradictory versions from the regional presidents that you have been meeting up with recently. I would like you to tell us what is happening with this financing. Will there be more financing in this term of office? What will happen with regional financing? Perhaps you could clarify this for us.

President of the Government.- There will be regional financing, because when we are talking about regional financing we are talking about the financing of the Welfare State. What you are probably asking me is whether there will be a new system of regional financing.

Look, what we have done at the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council is transfer two things to the regional governments. The first is that until such time as there is a new system of regional financing, this government will not stop working, and hence, we are going to improve this financing, the financing conditions for each one of the autonomous regions, and allow me, on an aside, to state that the path of economic stability proposed by the Government of Spain in the Lower House of Parliament improved a great deal and allowed some breathing space for the regional governments to the tune of more than 2.4 billion euros to finance healthcare, education, social services and long-term care in each region. I hope that in September when we return to this debate some of those parliamentary groups that represent or govern some regions or some local councils, take this into account and put the interests of the citizens of their regions beyond what are merely party interests.

And secondly, I should say that at this Fiscal and Financial Policy Council, as well as conveying to the regional governments that we are not going to stand by idle and that, consequently, we are going to improve regional financing in terms of debt and resources, as I said before, on the path to stability, we also proposed setting up a working group to discuss, evaluate and see what possibilities there are to reach an agreement on an overhaul of the regional financing system before the elections to be held in May 2019. If we see this is possible, the government will not refuse to revamp it. But it is also true that we must be realistic.

Hence, I prefer to focus on the debate on the improvements that can be made to the existing regional financing system, but if the regional governments are prepared to reach an agreement, then the government will not stand in the way of this agreement.

Q.- Margalida Solivellas, from TV3. The Speaker of the Regional Parliament of Catalonia went away from here with the impression from a meeting at Almudaina that the King wanted to negotiate with pro-independence parties and that this may change, to some extent, his position on Catalonia. Are you of the same opinion, do you have the same impression?

President of the Government.- I think, well, let's see. I am not anyone's spokesperson. I think that the Royal Family and the Head of State express themselves in their speeches and hence we must interpret their public speeches. I believe they are quite clear. I believe that we have a Head of State that appreciates a plural Spain, which appreciates the diversity of our country and has always extended his hand of friendship to Catalonia. I believe that this is the most important thing. For us to have a Head of State that acknowledges this plurality and this diversity. Aside from that, the Government of Spain, which is the executive party in this regard, heads up institutional relations with the other tiers of government, at a municipal and a regional level, and its role it to offer a response to the problems of the citizens of Catalonia. That is why I believe it is important although, let's say, many things have happened and some things have gone unnoticed by public opinion, I believe that it is important for us to have set up this bilateral committee seven years on to talk about what is important to the people of Catalonia - healthcare, education, social services and financing, what is going on with the commuter train services in Catalonia, what will happen with the motorways and what will happen with the Mediterranean Corridor.

In short, I believe that it is important to return to the debate on these issues which, in reality, are what affect the daily lives of the people of Catalonia and that both the Government of Spain and the Regional Government of Catalonia should pay full attention to.

Thank you.

(Transcript edited by the State Secretariat for Communication)

Non official translation