"Europe is the region of the world with the highest levels of well-being, progress, democracy, civilisation and human rights", says Mariano Rajoy

One of the goals of this meeting was to coordinate the position of the Mediterranean countries of the European Union at the upcoming Valletta Summit to be held on 3 February.

At the joint press briefing following the summit, Mariano Rajoy justified the past and present of the European Union, at a time in which many people, both from Europe and further afield, are criticising the policies being carried out by the EU, said the President of the Government. "Europe continues to be the region of the world with the highest levels of democracy, liberty and human rights; with the highest levels of well-being and progress and enjoys a Welfare State like none other in the world: public pensions, public healthcare, education and social services".

For this reason, Mariano Rajoy called on the people of Europe "to defend what is ours, our way of life, the place where we find ourselves today and where we intend to remain in the future".

Priorities for the coming years

Mariano Rajoy referred to the future of Europe, to the commitment that will be made on 25 March in Rome, when we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Treaty that gave rise to the European Union, "which is to continue concerning ourselves with the real problems of people and continue working on the unity and integration of the European Union".

In this regard, the President of the Government of Spain outlined the main priorities for the coming years, which include "the refugee crisis, immigration on economic grounds, the fight against terrorism - which has hit us hard in recent times - defence policy, foreign policy and, above all, economic growth and employment, which will allow us to maintain our Welfare State".

As regards economic policies, Mariano Rajoy announced that "we will fight hard to push through economic policies that allow us to invest more, to tackle youth unemployment, and progress will be made on increasingly freer trade policies because trade" - he stressed - "generates growth, wealth, well-being and employment".

According to the President of the Government, Europe must send out a message of unity and firm up its interest in forging integration in the future through enhancing the Single Market, starting to talk about Fiscal Union and continuing to increase the unity between all of the countries of the EU. "This message will offer certainty, and responds to the will of the 27 countries, plus Great Britain, that presently make up the European Union and which will be the most important area, as it is today, in terms of well-being, progress and respect for people that exists in the world", concluded Mariano Rajoy.

Seeking areas of agreement

The Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Southern Countries of the European Union gave an opportunity to seek areas of agreement in which Mediterranean countries have shared concerns, such as a global and comprehensive approach to tackling the migratory challenge, the protection of citizens overseas - with the backing of the Common Security and Defence Policy - and at home - through cooperation in the fight against international terrorism.

In addition, on the sidelines of the summit, Mariano Rajoy held a bilateral meeting with the Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, at which the two leaders reviewed relations between Spain and Greece and tackled issues at a European level, such as the second revision of the third financial assistance programme to Greece and migratory policy.