Press briefing by President of the Government of Spain and Portuguese Prime Minister

Q: TVE Good afternoon, I am Mariana from Spanish Television, good afternoon to you both. My first question is for the President of the Government of Spain. Yesterday, Brussels gave the go-ahead for the list of 15 third countries whose nationals can come into the Schengen area, into the European Union, although for the time being Spain has delayed this entry for issues of a technical nature, so at present the reality is that people still cannot come in from third countries. When will they be allowed into Spain? And then a question for both of you.

What value, what meaning do you give to the event, the institutional event we have seen today? And do you have any contingency plan or restrictive measures in the event that the epidemiological situation, the health situation, worsens in the two countries?

President of the Government: Well, thank you María for your questions. As regards your first question, we have indeed seen the agreement reached at a European level. I believe that this is great news for Europe, great news for Spain, in the sense that we have achieved a joint response regarding those countries with which we will have open borders outside of the Schengen area. And yes, as you say, we simply have a technical question there. That is, the response will be as soon as possible, when this can be published in the Official State Gazette, which will happen in a matter of hours, hopefully, or within a matter of days.

As regards your second question, I want to pass on not only to the Spanish media, but also to the Portuguese media, how pleased I am to be back in Elvas with my dear friend Antonio Costa, the Portuguese Prime Minister, at an event that is very emotive. We are two sister nations, we are two peoples that share not only history, culture, affinity, but also a vision of what has happened with this pandemic and what the challenges and transformations are that lie ahead of us, not only on the Iberian Peninsula, but also in a European context, with this summit in Brussels that will be held in July. So, the first thing I would like to do is pass on my great happiness and that of the Government of Spain at being here with the Government of Portugal, reopening the borders that we hope will never again be closed due to a pandemic.

Secondly, I wish to pass on the tremendous gratitude of the Government of Spain, of Spanish society, of Portuguese society and of the Government of Portugal. Over the course of the toughest weeks of the pandemic we went through in Spain, I was always supported and received the warmth, affection and encouragement of the Portuguese Prime Minister, and now that things are going better, I clearly want to thank him a great deal for the fact that we have such a good relationship, and this relationship has not only been sustained but stepped up even further in such dramatic situations as we have had to go through in Spain, and this says a lot about the great country that Portugal is and also about its Prime Minister.

And finally, I want to say to you that I believe that the strategic capabilities of the regional governments which in Spain, as you know, are responsible for managing the health system, have come out of this even stronger. If we can take anything away from the outbreaks we are seeing it is precisely the ability of the regional governments to pre-empt the situation in order to address it with all due guarantees, and hence I would also like to convey a sense of calm, of tranquillity and certainty to the Spanish people. And of course, not to let their guard down. We must follow all the health rules outlined by the experts, wear face masks, maintain social distancing, but we must also start to take out lives back, our daily routines, and learn to live with the virus and be aware that we have healthcare professionals and regional governments that have stepped up their strategic capacities to respond to the slightest outbreak, as we have been seeing in Spain.

Q: (PORTUGUESE MEDIA)

President of the Government: On a complementary basis to what the Portuguese Prime Minister said, in the talks I have held with His Majesty the King, one of the lessons we can learn from this COVID-19 crisis is that it is a great chance for Europe to advocate a strong Welfare State, with free and universal public health which has responded despite the terrible cost in terms of human life in this pandemic. It is clear that many lives have been saved thanks to us having a free and universal public health system, and I also believe that… and this is politically related… as the Portuguese Prime Minister rightly said, our countries have invested resources in saving lives, in maintaining jobs, in maintain companies open, and there is no moral risk but rather a commitment by countries, as is only right, to public health and to the lives of our fellow countrymen. Hence, I believe that we should be aware of the tremendous opportunity that this crisis also represents to call for a model that is needed in other parts of the world and that we fortunately already have in Europe - a strong Welfare State - and we can offer a positive response to this crisis, a response, as the Prime Minister rightly said and which I share, that is transforming, as this crisis has speeded up some of the changes that are due to come. The digitalisation of companies, of employment, of education and of the ecological transition. If the health emergency has amounted to what it has in term of human lives and economic costs, I cannot imagine what a climate emergency would amount to, and I believe it is very important for us to be aware of the challenges we face and anticipate them instead of denying them and looking the other way. I obviously believe that if we have learned a great lesson from this crisis then it is that economic policy must be the main aim of cohesion. Just a short time ago I was with the Portuguese Prime Minister very close to here, speaking with other European countries about the importance of cohesion, which is fundamental if we want to come out of this strong as a cause, not just in terms of the legitimisation of European citizens but also in relation to third countries outside of the EU.

Q: Good afternoon, I am Iñaki Aguado, from Telecinco News. My question is precisely directly related to these last few words of yours, Mr President of the Government. As a result of the agreements being reached in the Reconstruction Committee, I would like to know whether you consider that this paves the way, to some extent, for negotiations on the General State Budget, not just with Ciudadanos, but also with the PP.

And secondly, if you will allow me, Airbus has announced 900 dismissals. I would like to know what analysis the government makes at this time and what steps it is willing to make. Thank you.

President of the Government: Thank you Iñaki, in relation to this second issue, just yesterday I had the chance to talk with the CEO of Airbus, who notified me as to exactly what the global adjustment to the workforce will be as a result, I am talking about around the world, of the 40% drop in the company's turnover.

Quite clearly Spain is one of the founding countries of Airbus, of this company. We deeply regret the loss of these jobs and are clearly working, not just internally in the government but also with Airbus, to see how we can create joint lines of work to maintain jobs in Airbus in Spain, and obviously also so that this important aeronautical industry can remain in our country.

And in relation to your first question, the Government of Spain has always extended its hand; from the outset, it has called for unity from anyone. We have always said that the enemy is the virus, that the enemy is not the Government of Spain, or this party or that party. We have a common enemy and we have a common aim, which is precisely that of the reconstruction and the relaunch of the Spanish economy and the maintenance and creation of jobs.

That is what the Government of Spain is doing, precisely through this parliamentary committee. I applaud the will on the part of all the political formations to reach a great agreement. Regarding the EU, the economy, social affairs and clearly also strengthening our national health system.

Aside from that, with this attitude we are going to work with all the political forces with a constructive and open approach. We are well aware that through unity is how we can relaunch our economy more quickly and much more resolutely.

QUESTION FROM PORTUGUESE JOURNALIST

President of the Government: I believe I understand the question. I think you have asked about the health criteria in Spain. Before a Spanish media colleague asked about the reopening with third countries under the criteria of the EU. In the end, all the criteria based on which the EU decision is founded are absolutely and strictly epidemiological. They have nothing to do with diplomacy, but are strictly epidemiological and also on reciprocity in terms of the reopening of borders with third countries. Why do I say this in relation to the reopening of the border with Portugal? Because we are two societies, particularly Spain, that have suffered very severely from the pandemic and I can assure you that the lockdown suffered in Spain, the restrictive rules on freedoms and rights, such as the freedom of movement and not being allowed to meet up with your families, of renouncing this to protect them and others, in other words, the conscience of the whole of our country is tremendous and this is the best safeguard for avoiding any type of spread of the disease, both in Spain and in Portugal.

Thank you.

(Transcript edited by the State Secretariat for Communication)