Spain draws up a conclusive assessment of its presidency of the Council of the European Union

It is a positive assessment that we draw up in Madrid of the presidency of Spain at the head of the Council of the European Union, which will end on December 31. Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares described the presidency as a “success”, both legislatively and politically, and highlighted Spain’s excellent organizational and negotiating capacity. The government of Pedro Sánchez is satisfied because during his presidency he was able to reach major agreements for the future of the Union, such as the pact on migration and asylum, the reform of the electricity market or agreement on European tax rules. However, there are other files that could not be closed and which are very important for Spain, such as the trade agreement with Mercosur. In Spain, it is hoped that this agreement can be concluded during the next Belgian presidency of the Council.

The challenges of the next European elections in Spain

For the moment, there is not yet much talk about the European elections in June in Spain, even if Minister Manuel Albares stressed a few days ago that the result of this vote is “crucial” and “the future of the European Union depends on the union of Europeans around our common values”. The director and head of the political analysis department of the European Commission’s representative office in Spain, Lucas González Ojeda, discusses the challenges of this next election in Spain: “Spain has always been a country which has a strong vocation in its social agenda. It is a country which has its eyes fixed on Latin America, logically. Hence the importance of all the agreements with Latin America. And it is a country that, I believe, has a very inclusive vocation, with regard to the enlargement of the European Union. I believe that Spain will always have a clear vocation to participate in the European aspects and to European construction. I therefore do not think that these elections will change much regarding Spain’s relations within the EU”.

This election should therefore not change anything in this country’s relations with the EU. It must be said that Spain is a profoundly Europeanist country. The feeling of belonging to Europe has strongly developed among Spaniards since its accession to the EU in 1986. According to the latest Eurobarometer, 84% of them feel like European citizens, that is 12 points more than the average in Europe. Spaniards are among the most European-minded in the EU and 66% of them are optimistic about the future of Europe.