Press conference by President of the Government and President of the European Council

Madrid

President of the Government.- Ladies and gentlemen, a very good day to you and thank you very much for attending.

First of all, allow me to welcome the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, to Spain. I had had the opportunity to receive Donald Tusk previously when he was Prime Minister of Poland. I should say that on the many occasions that I have met with him, whether in Spain, in Poland or in Brussels, we have understood each other very well and we have made great strides together on projects of common European interest such as, for example, on Energy Union.

He is visiting us today, for the first time, in his capacity as President of the European Council. This is a brief work visit to tackle the southern dimension of the European Neighbourhood Policy. The fact that President Tusk is personally involved in an issue that Spain considers to be vitally important for Europe, such as relations with the southern shore, is undoubtedly good news.

As you are aware, Spain has traditionally been, and remains so today, one of the main driving forces behind the European Union policy for the Mediterranean. We feel it is essential for Europe to contribute with all the instruments available to it to the creation of a true space of shared prosperity between the two shores of the Mediterranean. This is a genuine demand deriving from the founding philosophy of the European project that seeks the union of citizens and the removal of borders to generate tangible benefits for our societies.

And allow me to state that I deeply regret the fact that the border between Europe and the Mediterranean still remains one of the main divides, in terms of income, in the whole world. European leaders cannot sit back and do nothing faced with this situation of such blatant inequality. Cooperation with the southern shore is a genuine humanitarian and strategic imperative, as can be seen by the multiple interests that unite us, from immigration to Jihadi terrorism, from energy to trade exchanges.

Our actions must be both joint and ambitious. Hence, in close coordination with the European Union institutions, Spain has organised a Ministerial Conference on the Southern Neighbourhood, which will shortly take place in Barcelona on 13 April, at which I will take part. At our meeting, I informed President Tusk of the preparations for this conference that will offer a good opportunity to maintain frank and constructive dialogue with our neighbours to the south. 20 years after the European Council in Barcelona, that launched the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EUROMED), the Spanish Government once again places Barcelona at the political centre of the European Union and we do so with the conviction that the future of Europe and the future of the Mediterranean are more united than ever.

In relation to Libya, President Tusk and I agreed on the need to reach a political and negotiated exit strategy to the conflict. In this regard, we support the mediation work fostered by the Special Representative to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Bernardino León. The aim now is to achieve a ceasefire and to form a national unity government that can provide a basis for the process of an ordered and inclusive transition. Arms must give way to politics, once and for all.

As you would expect we have spoken about Jihadi terrorism, which clearly constitutes the main threat we are presently facing, endangers the security of our citizens and threatens the model of democratic co-existence of our societies. We must focus all our efforts on wiping this out. To do so, it is key that we make a comprehensive and on-going effort to co-operate with the rest of the European Union, with our allies and, in particular, with those Arab and Muslim countries that are suffering from the senselessness of Jihadi terrorism first hand. I have said this before, but I wish to repeat it here today: this fight is not between Islam and Christianity, it is a fight between civilisation and barbarism.

We also tackled the situation in Tunisia, a country that President Tusk is travelling on to this afternoon. The terrorist attacks of 18 March represent an attempt to destroy an exemplary transition. Over the last few years, the political parties and civil society of Tunisia have shown commendable political maturity, satisfactorily culminating the transition to democracy and the rule of law. The path taken has turned Tunisia into a benchmark for a region in turmoil. Tunisia has all our support in the consolidation of its institutions, economic recovery and, of course, in the fight against terrorism.

Finally, we also analysed the evolution of the situation in Ukraine at our meeting, as well as the degree of compliance with the Minsk Agreements, under the premise that the only solution to this crisis can be a political solution based on these agreements. The de-escalation achieved to date, the ceasefire, albeit fragile, and the gradual withdrawal of heavy arms is also a result of these agreements and of the efforts made under the Normandy format, which Spain supports. Progress now needs to be made on developing the political process and, furthermore, the government must successfully implement the economic reforms undertaken in order to achieve the stability that we all seek.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for your attention; I will now give the floor to the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk.

Mr. Tusk .- Thank you very much, Mariano, Mr President of the Government.

First of all, allow me to express my deepest sympathies to the families and friends of the victims of the plane crash, among them Spanish citizens, last Tuesday.

I am very pleased to be able to be here today with President of the Government Mariano Rajoy. Yesterday I was in Valetta and this afternoon I will travel on to Tunisia to speak about how the European Union can and should help our neighbours to the south to establish stability. We will also speak about how we are going to tackle the challenges facing us, namely, terrorism and illegal immigration.

The President of the Government and I spoke openly about the causes and consequences of instability and insecurity in those countries that are our neighbours to the south. We exchanged opinions on what the European Union is doing in relation to terrorism and migration, and on what we can do in the future to help these countries.

We are all very concerned by the lack of government in Libya and by the spaces opened to the expansion of terrorist groups. We agree that the European Union and its Member States must help the people of Libya; firstly by supporting all the actions undertaken by Bernardino León to achieve a permanent ceasefire and to help create a national unity government.

Spain is a very important partner in the Mediterranean. I would like to thank the President of the Government for organising the Ministerial Conference on issues of the European neighbourhood policy, to be held in Barcelona in a couple of weeks. This is very important for Europe, both for our economy and for our politics and stability. This help and the important role of the European Union in these issues are primordial for re-establishing stability in the region.

That is all for my part. Thank you very much.

Q.- Good day, President of the Government. I had a series of questions of a domestic nature. I would like to ask you, in the first place, if you feel responsible to any degree for the existence of an undeclared fund at the People's Party, which Judge Ruz has substantiated in his ruling, and in the same regard, whether you share the criteria of the General Secretary, who yesterday considered that "Luis Bárcenas is a liar".

In relation to the recent elections in Andalusia, I would like to know how you feel that the People's Party should manage its commitment to allow the most-voted party to govern, and if the rumours have reached you of internal criticisms of the strategy followed by your party and the concerns raised regarding upcoming campaigns, including those on 24 May, and if you feel you should be as heavily involved in this campaign as you were in the recent elections in Andalusia.

President of the Government.- As regards the last question, I have always done this since I became President of the People's Party, and even before that, when I was the Deputy General Secretary, as I was for Organisation and Elections. I have been heavily involved in all the campaigns and hence I will be so again in the upcoming elections.

In relation to your first question I have nothing to say on this issue. After various years of investigating, I accept what the courts have to say on this matter.

In relation to the issue of Andalusia, it is clear that the results, as I said to my Executive Committee on Monday, were not what we would have hoped for; but that will only serve to spur us on to continue working even harder, if indeed that is possible, than we have in recent times.

The People's Party is a very important political force that has the support of many Spanish citizens. It is true that we have gone through a very difficult period over these last few years. We took on a country that was on the verge of bankruptcy but now, fortunately, things are much better: we are now enjoying economic growth; we saw this in 2014 and I said just recently that 2015 would see growth of at least 2.5% with half a million jobs created, which is undoubtedly a positive figure for the future. And that is what we are going to do, work harder, if possible, and try to explain things to our citizens as a whole.

Q.- I also have a question for you. After 9 November last year the pro-independence process initiated by Mr Artur Mas seemed to be over but just yesterday we found out that the pro-independence forces have agreed on a road map. I would like to know how the government is going to respond to this and whether you believe that it is better to wait and see how events unfold; wait for this period of 18 months as from the elections on 27 September to expire.

This morning we also heard that a measure adopted by the government some time ago has been revoked and now healthcare is being offered to illegal immigrants. I would like to know if you now admit that the government made a mistake.

As regards the elections in Andalusia, how did you leave the commitment you took on to allow the most voted-for party to govern? How should that be handled by the People's Party in Andalusia?

President of the Government.- The People's Party in Andalusia handle those issues of importance for them in the way they deem fit and suitable. I have every confidence in the decisions adopted by the People's Party of Andalusia.

As regards the issue of Catalonia, elections have indeed been announced, although they haven't been called yet, but if these elections subsequently take place, they will be regional elections to choose the Regional Parliament of Catalonia, and, following that, a new Regional Government of Catalonia.

The only thing left for me to say is what I have said on countless occasions - no Government of Spain is going to authorise a break-up of our national sovereignty. Aside from that, my government will continue to work towards harmony, integration and on emphasising the value of a shared project of co-existence, which has been extraordinarily beneficial to the people of Catalonia and for Spain as a whole.

I believe that this new road map, which is yet another one following on from all the previous ones, is bad for the people of Catalonia as a whole; it is also bad for the rest of the people of Spain, and hence, it is bad for Spain as a whole, and it is bad in its very essence because it goes against the grain of our own history, because it breaks up more than 500 years of life shared together, it breaks up all the ties that have united us for a long time and because it forces the people of Catalonia, or at least many of them, to cease to be both Spaniards and Catalans. Hence, it is bad for them, it is also bad for Spain as a whole and it is bad in its form, because it means, in the event that it goes through, breaking the current law in force in Spain at this time, that is, the Spanish Constitution. And, as I have said on many occasions, and I will do so again now, in Spain the law is above any other consideration and this law affects all of us without exception.

In relation to the other issue you asked me about, indeed healthcare in Spain for those people with the status of illegal immigrants is regulated in the following manner: they have no entitlement to a health card, in the same way as in every other country in the European Union, but healthcare for these people is undoubtedly one of the most extensive in Europe. They are attended in emergencies, pregnancies are attended to, as are births and post-natal care, minors are also attended under the same conditions as any Spaniard, as indeed are all those problems that affect public health.

In order to improve care for these people, the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality seeks to regulate the possibility of their access to primary care. To date, this access takes place through the Accident and Emergency system, but it would seem more sensible and more reasonable for this to take place at outpatient facilities, among other things, so as not to collapse the A&E system.

There are certain decisions that have already been taken in some autonomous regions and the issue presently at hand is to pass a regulation through the Inter-regional Health Council that is useful and can be applied throughout the whole of Spain.

Q.- I have a question for Mr Tusk. Firstly, according to all the information available, in the month of April, in the event that no new funds are released by the European Union for Greece, the country will not have the liquidity to meet its commitments. At this time, this is under negotiation and it would seem that an agreement is not guaranteed. I wanted to know whether the European Union, whether the Council, has a fall-back plan in the event that an agreement is not reached to release the new tranche of funds to bail out Greece.

You mentioned that this afternoon you will be in Tunisia and then there will be a Ministerial Conference on the Southern Neighbourhood in Barcelona on 13 April. What do you expect from this conference in Barcelona, taking into account that there are countries that will not be represented there, such as Syria and Libya?

In order to tackle the very difficult situation facing Tunisia, which has been hard hit, not only in terms of security but also from what may be its largest source of revenue - tourism - will there be any package of aid on the part of the European Union for Tunisia to help it overcome this situation?

And for the President of the Spanish Government, apart from whether there were any questions he asked Mr Tusk that he wants to comment on in relation to the Spanish position, along the lines of what he said before regarding the results of the elections in Andalusia not being what were hoped for or indeed expected, as well as him stating that the work must be stepped up, I wanted to ask if, in addition to stepping up the work, anything else needs to be corrected, both in terms of the government's management of affairs and in its communication policy to explain this management.

Mr. Tusk.- As regards Greece, we are working, both in Athens and in Brussels, with two groups. We are working on the basis of the agreement reached on 20 February at the European Council. We are presently working on the details of the plans for the Greek reform. The evaluation process of this plan is very complex.

We have also had a certain success in Europe in terms of exiting the crisis. In this respect, Spain is perhaps an example of the countries that have successfully carried out a programme of reforms to help it exit the crisis.

We can say that at this time the situation is under control. I do not believe that it is my role at this time, here in Madrid, to speculate on a fall-back plan because our focus is on the debate on the present plan; a plan that must successfully conclude the financing plan under the conditions mentioned in the agreement of 20 February at the European Council.

I am convinced that at this time Greece's creditors are showing their good intent, and the most important thing is a commitment on the part of Greece and an explanation of both its political and economic intentions. I am sure that we will reach an agreement towards the end of April.

As regards the crisis in our Southern Neighbourhood, the conclusion from the meeting we have held is that the most important thing at this time is to help Tunisia, because it is the only country in the region to have a democracy and with possibilities to move forwards. We must show our support and our intent to help in many aspects. I will speak about that today, this afternoon, in Tunisia.

The second very important question is the possibility of creating a national unity government in Libya. We know that Libya cannot take part in the meeting in Barcelona, because, for the time being, it has no government and hence no representation. And we also support the mission of Bernardino León, because the first step that needs to be taken is to form a stable government in Libya, and as soon as we have a stable counterpart in Libya, I believe that we will be able to stabilise the situation in this country.

I believe that I should not have to explain the importance of stability in Libya on the question of terrorism, here in Madrid. We spoke about the Spanish experiences in this matter. We all know what we spoke about.

President of the Government.- As I was asked to do, I will explain some of the questions asked to the President of the European Council.

I will make a comment on Greece. The first thing I want to point out is that the Spanish Government and the people of Spain wish Greece every success - I believe that this situation is very important for the Greek people, for our European colleagues and also for them - and obviously I wish them to remain in the Euro. I believe that this is good for Greece, for Spain and also for the European Union as a whole. And the most important thing is to implement policies that serve to generate growth and create jobs. At the end of the day, that is what generates confidence; that is, in the end, what generates economic resources and that is what, in the end, allows you to govern and is the catalyst for creating greater levels of well-being and wealth.

Hence, I hope that things are satisfactorily resolved, that Greece realises, and I am convinced that this is the case, that the talks with the European institutions can lead to a reasonable solution; but that Greece also realises that it is very important for the European Union to send out a message that the rules of the game are being adhered to, because no type of organisation or association, in this case I am speaking about the European Union, can operate without rules that are respected and followed by everyone.

In relation to the second question, it is clear that the results, as I said before and I pointed out at the Executive Committee, are not what we had hoped for. It is clear that whenever you have results that are worse than you expected, you must correct certain things and you must make an effort so that this can be improved on in the future.

In reality, when you govern, as in any walk of life, it is good to constantly take decisions to help you improve, so that things can turn out better, and to improve yourself. We have devoted the first part and more of this legislature to achieving what was the major national objective of overcoming the economic crisis. Overcoming the economic crisis, as you are aware, was not easy. The whole of 2012 was a particularly tough year; but we overcame the threat of a bailout, we also overcame those doubts generated by the markets, with prices that prevented many institutions from receiving financing; others didn't even have access to them... That was the main objective - to overcome the crisis.

Now we have ensured that certain things, aside from overcoming the crisis, can be felt by our people: now, this year, we have managed to drop taxes for the first time, consumption is also on the rise, which is a very positive statistic, and last year new jobs were created for the first time in seven years: 440,000 people found a job, and the main objective now, after having overcome the crisis and seen the first effects filter through, is for this to reach the people of Spain as a whole. That is what this government will devote itself to during the rest of this legislature, because it is our priority and our obligation to Spanish society as a whole.

Aside from that, we must correct what needs correcting and we will have to work harder still, but that is nothing new, that is the internal activity of the party. What is truly important is for us to resolve the problems of the people of Spain following a very tough opening term of this legislature.

Thank you all very much.