Press conference by the President of the Government following the meeting of the European Council

President of the Government: Thank you for coming to this press conference, in which I'll explain...and first of all, I'd like to apologise because my initial presentation is going to be rather long.

The result of the European Council meeting on Article 50, dedicated to Brexit, although it has already been commented on today. The ordinary meeting of the European Council held yesterday and today, and the Euro Summit we've just concluded.

On Brexit, on Monday, as you know, the British Government dedicated, or rather, decided to postpone the vote on the Withdrawal Agreement that was going to take place the following day.

There has been a consensus with respect to the fact that it is not possible to reopen the Withdrawal Agreement, or the future declaration reached between the United Kingdom and the European Union, as an agreement.

The Agreement, in our opinion, contains a balance, achieved with a great deal of difficulty over more than a year and very complex negotiations, and allows, in our opinion, an orderly Brexit.

The 27 Member States have made it clear to Prime Minister May that the safeguard pact or clause is a mechanism that neither of the two parties wishes to apply. And still less to prolong it unnecessarily This is one of the main concerns that Prime Minister May had, and of course we have made her aware that neither of the two parties wishes to apply it and that we do not want it to extend for too long; and that is included in the Resolution, the Declaration of the European Council that you know.

That is why we have declared our aim to negotiate without delay - and I want to stress that, without delay - an agreement for the future relationship, as included in the Withdrawal Agreement.

It is thus a clear demonstration of political will between the Government of the United Kingdom and the European Union.

The European Council is also aware that the risks of non-ratification are real, given the postponement in the vote on the Withdrawal Agreement in the British Parliament. And that is also why in the last point of the Council Resolution we have called for more preparatory work to be done in the case that the undesired scenario occurs, which is the disorderly exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union.

You all know that the Commission meeting will be on the 19th of this month, when it will publish its contingency plans. And I would also like to say that the Government of Spain, from the moment we entered the Moncloa Palace, has had nearly a dozen inter-ministerial meetings, I think, with different departments to begin to prepare the contingency plans of each and every one of the ministries; above all, taking into account - and this is the main concern in case of a disorderly exit - the protection and recognition of the rights of Spanish citizens who are living in the United Kingdom.

With respect to the multi-year financial framework, in colloquial terms the European Union budget, we have agreed to speed up negotiations to try to reach an agreement at the European Council meeting of autumn 2019, as proposed by Spain.

And with respect to the size of the Budget, we have as a Government supported an increase to 1.1% of the gross domestic product of the European Union to allow progress towards a more innovative, more social and greener Europe.

In these negotiations my Government has supported and will continue to support an agricultural policy as a key point, and this will be one of the main priorities, with a budget allocation that is appropriate to the need of our agricultural, fisheries and livestock sector, and also of course to fight against the depopulation of our rural areas, which is one of the main challenges we have to face in Spain. In this respect the allocation of the Cohesion Funds will also be important and also, without any doubt, very important for our country.

In addition, we believe that this European budget has to address some very important challenges, such as the ecological transition, migration flows, which also has to be a major item in upcoming budgets, innovation, the digital era and its consequences. And above all, we must boost or reaffirm policies to which this Government is strongly committed, such as inequality and unemployment, in particular youth and long-term unemployment. And also tackle child poverty.

We have also addressed various issues relating to external relations. First, we have dealt with the situation created arising from the boarding of a number of Ukrainian ships in the Azov Sea by the Russian Navy, and condemned these actions by the Russian Government, reaffirming the EU's support for the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

We have also debated on the EU-Arab League summit at the level of Heads of State and Government, which is being prepared by the Council.

On migration, I have mentioned the pressure from migration that of course Spain is suffering. I have insisted on the key role played by Morocco, not only for Spain but for the European Union as a whole. At the urging of Spain, the European Union has unblocked and assigned 140 million euros to strengthen migratory cooperation with Morocco and increase the Moroccan Government's capacity to control its borders.

In my opinion this is a very important milestone. It's true that it won't appear much in the media, although I recall that in the summer we were talking about some 30 million euros; so in the end it is 140 million euros that have gone to Morocco, and I believe that it is a very important milestone and a success for this Government. And I want to highlight this.

Not so much for the amount, but also because I believe that without doubt it is the first step towards the construction of a stable framework of cooperation in the medium and long term between the European Union and Morocco, which obviously gives confidence to Morocco and to the European Union as a whole because, of course, when we talk about the migration phenomenon, we are not talking about something temporary. It is a structural phenomenon and obviously our cooperation as a country and as the EU with Morocco is vital.

We have also addressed the reform of the Common European Asylum System. I have again insisted on the need for it to be a balanced reform that combines the responsibility and solidarity of the Member States, as you have heard on other occasions.

On climate change, as you know on December 3, I was present at the COP24 in Katowice, Poland, where I presented my position on this issue that is a priority for our country, and also for the Union. At this European Council meeting we have ensured - and this was a request made by Spain right from the start - that the paragraph of Conclusions reflects more specifically the need for the EU to present its strategy for implementing the Paris Agreement by 2020.

On the single market: we have stressed the need to do more work on the single market to adapt it to the new digital era, a more connected service economy, and thus the ecological transition of our economy.

Spain is committed to the single market, and that is also something I have made clear. It requires, as I have said, a robust social dimension, the social pillar of the Gothenburg Summit, which obviously must also be incorporated into the development of this single market.

On the issue of security and defence: we discussed security and defence one year on from the launch of permanent structured cooperation, and as Europeans we must assume our responsibility on common defence, above all in the current context of security, which is particularly uncertain, in which the existing normal systems of collective security are being questioned.

In these two days, we also addressed other issues that in my opinion are important. The first of these is fake news. Fake news, as all the EU countries have agreed, is a real and growing threat to our democracies. In Spain we have suffered from it, as is the case in other countries; so we continue to make progress on the design of measures to combat it.

The European Council has also made a common appeal - and I believe that it is also very important to stress this - against racism, against xenophobia, and against anti-Semitism, one of its most persistent and also insidious forms.

And we have also made a positive assessment of citizen consultations. In Spain a number of different consultations have been carried out in 48 cities on the state of the European Union, with around 6,000 people taking part.

As regards the Euro Summit, important decisions have been taken for strengthening the single currency, which is now 20 years old. We are not yet satisfied. And I have told the rest of my colleagues this. We think it's OK. We think that the decisions taken are moving in the right direction, but they are not sufficient.

We have agreed, as you know, to implement fiscal support for the Single Resolution Fund, one of the pillars of banking union that will obviously contribute to financial stability.

An important reform has also been approved of the bailout fund, referred to as the ESM, providing it with more robust, more effective instruments in case of a financial crisis, thus launching a message of confidence to the markets.

And we have also held an intense discussion on the fiscal pillar of monetary union.

Moreover, for the first time, the Euro Summit has agreed - and I believe that this should also be stressed - the implementation of a common budget to promote competitiveness and convergence with the countries that belong to the Eurozone.

As I said before, it is a case of incomplete progress. We are satisfied, in part. This Government has supported much more ambitious fiscal proposals to strengthen the Eurozone, including as you know, the common unemployment insurance scheme, by which monetary union sends a clear signal that we are also capable of making progress in the social protection of the citizens, in particular the most vulnerable.

In any event, we are convinced that the Eurozone needs an instrument for stabilisation for periods of crisis. Over the coming months, of course, the position pursued by the Government of Spain will continue - or will be to continue - working hard along these lines in the Eurogroup and the European Commission.

Well, these are the issues that we have dealt with in this intense day and a half, from Brexit to the euro, and I will leave you with a final assessment: We have taken steps in the right direction, but insufficient steps in terms of the Eurozone, and we also hope that shortly the British people, in this case the British Government, will tell us precisely what guarantees it needs to guarantee, if you forgive the repetition, a positive vote by the British Parliament. This is not something that corresponds to the European Union, it corresponds to the British Government, and to the British Parliament, and we will wait to see what the United Kingdom asks us for, what it demands.

Right, now I am open to your questions.

Q: Good afternoon, Mr. President of the Government. I would like to ask you about your meeting with Torra, Quim Torra, for which the arrangements appear to be almost complete. What is the key message that you are taking to the President of the Catalan Regional Government, if merely holding this meeting, which a few days ago appeared much more difficult than it does now, increases expectations of pushing through the budget in the Lower House of Parliament? And then, I would like to ask for your opinion. I'd like to ask you whether "Ibuprofen politics" work or don't work. A few days ago the Foreign Minister said, as you know, that they don't seem to be working, and has given up the Budget as a lost cause. I would like to ask you whether this is what the President of the Government thinks as well. Thank you.

President of the Government: Well, let's see. As regards the first of your questions, Yolanda, I believe that the Government holding a Council of Ministers meeting in Barcelona is a sign of respect and appreciation for Catalonia and Catalan society, just as going to Seville was, and as it will be to go to other cities in Spain.

I believe that bringing the Council of Ministers meeting closer to regional Spain is nothing less than a symbol and a gesture expressing our coexistence, concord and of bringing the Government of Spain closer to each and every one of the territories in our country.

So we were in Seville and we are going to be in Barcelona. We are going to other Spanish cities, and this has a great deal to do with this Government's idea of politics, a recognition of territorial diversity and, to be clear, a recognition that not all political life will be in Madrid.

So this gesture, this sign of appreciation, of respect, of fondness for Catalan society, is the same as we had with Andalusian society, and which we will have with the rest of the territories to which the Council of Ministers will also travel over the coming months.

And as to the second of your questions, this is a crisis that has been incubating for over ten years. As I have said on numerous occasions, I don't know how to say it so that... Well, in the end, I'm going to repeat myself: calm, time, dialogue, a sense of responsibility to the State by all the political parties. Above by all those parties in government in various institutions.

So: calm, time, dialogue, generosity and a sense of State. This will not be a crisis that we are going to resolve in one month, or in two months. We are going to take time.

Mr. Torra will ask me, won't he? He will want to talk about self-determination. Well, you can talk about any question within the Constitution. But look, the time taken in talking about self-determination... if in the end we meet, I'll use it to talk about precarious employment, the quality of public services and to see how we can reconstruct the Welfare State that unfortunately has been has been severely damaged in Catalan society during these years of crisis.

Q; Carlos Cue, El País. Thank you very much, Mr. President of the Government. In what is your first press conference after the Andalusian elections, you will understand that we should want to talk about national issues.

The political scene has changed a great deal since then, and both in your party and in some opinion polls there is a fear that the right may add seats across the whole of Spain, as has happened in Andalusia. Our colleague referred to "Ibuprofen politics". Do you believe that this is what is burying your expectations, and what will you do to recover them?

And finally, you talked about the Council meeting in Barcelona. Given what is happening, do you believe that it was a mistake to propose a Council of Ministers meeting in Barcelona now, and have you doubted whether the meeting will take place? What does whether or not there is a meeting depend on? Thank you.

President of the Government: No, no, it's just that we still don't have Mr. Torra's answer, or that of the Regional Government of Catalonia, and so it's not that I'm doubting it, I'm simply hoping that it takes place because in fact I've said so before a number of times, and I think it is important to repeat and reiterate it. In politics, what you cannot do is lose your composure. I made a pledge to Catalan society that there would be a Council of Ministers meeting in Barcelona before the end of the year, and the Government of Spain fulfils its promises.

And of course we are going to try to hold a meeting with the President, in this case, of the Regional Government of Catalonia, to talk about issues that matter to Catalan society. What's more, we have a project for Catalonia, because we have a project for Spain. And this same project we have for Catalonia is the project we have for Spain. That is why the rise in the minimum wage to 900 euros will be passed in Barcelona, at this Council of Ministers meeting. And this does not affect anyone but the people who most need the support and protection of public policies, and of the army, in this case, of the Government of Spain.

And with respect to the first of the issues: Look, for how many years have we been criticising the fact that there no remedy has been put in place for the crisis in Catalonia? This Government wants to resolve the Catalan problem. It doesn't want to live in a situation of confrontation. It doesn't want to live in a situation of territorial grievance. It wants to resolve one of the main problems of Catalan society.

So, I repeat: generosity, dialogue, responsibility, and a sense of responsibility to the State. I had it when I was in opposition. The only thing I ask for from the opposition is that it should have the same sense of responsibility to the State that I did when I was in opposition, in this case supporting the Government of Spain.

These problems are there to be resolved, not to be left aside, as they have been left over these seven years, in the situation as it is. That is my answer... Look I assume my responsibility.

Q: Another couple of questions. The first on the reform of the Eurozone. Do you believe that while Chancellor Angela Merkel or Prime Minister Rutte is in the European Council, more work can be done on the Eurozone?

And a second question. There is little ambition with respect to the Eurozone, and also with respect to the other major issue that demonstrates solidarity, which is migration reform, now that we are entering the pre-campaign season of the European elections. What messages do you believe are being sent to the citizens with a divided Europe, with a Europe without ambition, precisely now that threats of Eurosceptic and populist parties are taking shape?

President of the Government: Well, I believe that yes, the European Union will have to be much more ambitious. And that is what we propose in all the European Council meetings, on migration policy and, for example, on the reform of the Eurozone, I couldn't agree with you more.

And that being said, each leader defends his or her position as a country. And in this respect, yes, major steps are being taken to complete banking union or to begin, let's say, to foster the idea of an EU budget. Well, in this, we have the support of Chancellor Merkel, and also of Prime Minister Rutte.

Q: Good afternoon, Mr. President of the Government. I would like to ask a question on national politics, with respect to Catalonia - are you sure that things are improving, or not, after you have changed the political direction?

And second, I would like to recall, well, I would like to know what your opinion is of the fact that the Parliament of Kosovo has this morning approved the creation of an Army. Does Spain think this is a good thing, or do you believe it will change Spain's policy or will Spain try to influence NATO's policy, and that of the EU, with respect to Kosovo?

President of the Government: Well, this is a question that we talked about yesterday, when we talked about foreign policy; and the position of the 28 Member States as a whole is fairly clear: this is not the way forward for reconciliation, nor, let's say, for fostering good relations between Kosovo and Serbia.

And with respect to the first question, well, I believe that the fact that the bilateral committees have met for the first time in 11 years, in this half year, in these five or six months we have been in Government, and that we are beginning to respond to many of the problems of the Catalan people, such as infrastructures, or for example the reduction of appeals before the Constitutional Court, and thus in the level of litigation between Central Government and the Catalan Government, all that seems to be good news.

I believe that this is the way forward: a great deal of calm, common sense, moderation, and above all, far-sightedness. This is not a problem that will be resolved in two or three months. We need time. I believe that this is the key. And in this I have never misled anyone. I have always said the same thing: time, calm, generosity, dialogue and a sense of responsibility to the State.

Q: Miquel Roch, Expansión. I would like to ask you about the European Deposit Insurance Scheme. How is this dossier going? Do you think that we will be able to see it at some point and when could that be? Thank you very much.

President of the Government: Well, first of all Miquel, good luck. And I would like to recognise in the name of the whole Government your extraordinary work in Brussels. Look, the truth is that we have fought as a Government for the resolutions to be more visible. It hasn't been the case. It is only appearing very superficially. We hope that in the next conclusions of the Euro Summit EDIS will be clearly apparent, right? That is the fight that the Government of Spain is engaged in, and of course, I hope to have the support of other countries that right now are fairly cautious when it comes to this instrument.

Thank you very much.

(Transcript edited by the State Secretariat for Communication)

Non official translation