Spain wants to seal an ambitious pact on migration and asylum during the upcoming EU Council presidency, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Thursday, adding that European countries cannot be divided on the matter because ‘we are all victims of irregular immigration’.
Sánchez unveiled the priorities of the upcoming EU Council presidency starting on 1 July and lasting for six months, as well as its brand new website.
Even though general elections will take place almost one month after the start, on 23 July, the programme will not be affected as Spain has a robust team of officials who will guarantee the normal development of the presidency, diplomatic sources said.
Despite the “euro-optimism”, Spain faces a complex task, though, as the migration and asylum pact is fiercely opposed by countries such as Hungary and Poland.
Even though Sánchez highlighted the success of the Swedish presidency in achieving on 8 June the agreement of the EU Interior ministers to reform the EU´s asylum rules, he also warned of the many hurdles ahead.
The prime minister pointed out that after the agreement reached on the regulation of asylum and migration management and on the regulation of asylum procedures, only a third element remains, namely the regulation of crisis management.
There is a strict deadline, though, as the EU wants to achieve an agreement before the end of the European legislature -April 2024- at the latest.
Spain, the prime minister stressed, defends that EU countries cannot be divided, since “we are all victims of irregular immigration”, he stated. Solidarity and responsibility must be combined, and a balance must be struck between the two, the socialist leader pointed out.
Surge of right-wing movements is ‘bad news’
Sánchez warned about the surge of right-wing parties in Europe, which are “bad news” because they deny the main challenges that the EU must face, among them climate change, he said.
He did not comment on the repercussions that regional pacts currently being negotiated between Partido Popular (PP/EPP), and the far-right Vox (ECR) party could have at the EU level, although he did emphasise the danger that these “denialist” movements pose to the EU.
In view of the greater representation of anti-European forces in the EU, Sánchez made it clear that the Spanish EU Council presidency will strengthen the unity of Europe in the face of the many challenges that lie ahead.
“What we have to do is to unite (…) to be much more united around common challenges. Having political movements that question or deny these challenges, such as the climate emergency (…)is bad news for Europe as a whole,” said Sánchez.
Other priorities include a minimum standard of corporate taxation in all EU partners and fighting against tax evasion to put an end “once and for all to tax evasion by large fortunes and large corporations,” he said.
Spain wants the EU to achieve greater social justice, ensure wealth reaches all citizens, and strengthen European strategic autonomy, among other challenges.
(Fernando Heller | EuroEFE.EURACTIV.es – Edited by Max Griera)
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