President of the Government Rajoy attends four-party summit in Paris between France, Germany, Spain and Italy

On the issue of combatting terrorism, firm condemnation will be expressed of the Barcelona attack, as well as solidarity with and support for the Spanish authorities. Efforts will be made to promote the fight against terrorism by mobilising all instruments available in the European Union. In line with what the President of the Government of Spain has been advocating for years, emphasis will be placed on the need to strengthen cooperation between States and to improve information exchange mechanisms in the fight against terrorism.

On the issue of the migrant crisis and in light of the Spanish experience in migratory flow management, the importance of fostering dialogue and cooperation with countries of origin and transit will be underlined. To this end, the President of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou, the President of Chad, Idriss Déby, the Chairman of the Libyan Presidential Council, Fayez al-Sarraj, and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini, have been invited to attend the summit session on migration issues. Furthermore, the key role played by North African countries in the fight against illegal immigration and people trafficking gangs will be recognised.

The Digital Agenda will represent another major issue at the summit as it constitutes a priority for the current Estonian Presidency of the European Council. Preparations will be made for the Tallinn Digital Summit to be held on 29 September.

Furthermore, the current status of Brexit negotiations will be examined following the conclusion of the second round of talks in July. It will be stressed that the priority in the negotiations is to protect the rights and interests of the general public, while the need for financial settlement of the obligations held by the United Kingdom will be underlined.

In terms of defence, debates will be held on strengthening the Common Security and Defence Policy and, more specifically, permanent structured cooperation.

Finally, debates will also be held on the main European initiatives within the framework of the ongoing process of reflection on the future of the European Union.

Non official translation