Statement by President of the Government at swearing in of Regional Government councillors of Madrid

Madrid

Good day to everyone. For me it is a great satisfaction, a source of pride and honour to be here at the swearing in of the members of the regional government of Madrid. I was unable to be here at the swearing in of Cristina because I was in Brussels at a European Council meeting, but there was a significant representation from the Government of Spain present.

Today I am here and what I have principally come here to do is to wish you all luck. You have won the elections and are the most voted-for party in Madrid. I am absolutely convinced that you will rise to the occasion, that no-one will regret having given you their support and what happens in Madrid is very important for Spain as a whole. Madrid is a region of tremendous importance due to its Gross Domestic Product, because it is home to a great many people.

We are creating jobs, we are at a time in which we are starting to see economic recovery. In Spain as a whole this year we are going to grow by around 3%, and I am convinced that in Madrid things will perform even better and, in this regard, I am also convinced that the regional government team will work shoulder-to-shoulder with all the people of Madrid in order to achieve what at the end of the day everyone wants, which is to improve the well-being and wealth of our citizens. So, what I have come here to do is to wish you all the best of luck, we are very proud and very pleased. And also, if you will allow me, as President of the People's Party, which I also am, it is very satisfying to see us governing in the region.

I would also like to talk to you, if you will allow me, about two issues of current affairs.

I wanted to speak about Greece where, as you are all aware, it has been announced that a referendum will be held on 5 July. Well, that is a piece of news that no-one wanted to hear. We would have all liked an understanding and an agreement to have been reached some time ago. The whole of the European Union was supportive of Greece four months ago, as it had been before, but during these four months it has not been possible to reach an understanding.

My position at this time is that the worst thing that could happen to Greece and to the people of Greece is that they exit the Euro. Their exit from the Euro is bad, firstly, for the people of Greece; secondly for Greece itself, but it is also very bad for the whole of Europe. Hence, Spain's position - I have given instructions to the Minister for Economic Affairs, who today has gone to the Eurogroup meeting in Brussels - will be to try, right to the very end, to continue negotiating to save the situation.

We have been supportive of Greece and will continue to do so, but we also want Greece to meet its commitments as the rest of us do. When you are a member of a club, of an organisation, in this case something as important as the European Union, you have rights, but you also have obligations because that's what makes the world go round.

And then, as regards terrorism. As you are aware, yesterday was a truly dramatic day because there were terrorist attacks, the most significant of which, in terms of the number of victims, took place in Tunisia, but there were also attacks in France, in Somalia and in Kuwait.

I want to say that this is the main priority of the European Union at this time; yesterday we had the opportunity to hold a debate on this issue and I want to say that Spain will call a meeting of the 5+5 Initiative, the five most important European countries in the Mediterranean together with the five African Mediterranean countries. We will be supportive of Tunisia; at this time we are working with Spanish soldiers in Somalia, in Mali, as well as in Iraq, together with other European countries and this war will be waged until the very end, not only in our countries but also further afield.

Hence, we support Tunisia, and all those people who have suffered from acts of terrorism; and we can assure the people of Spain, as well as of Europe, that all our governments will battle until the very end.

Thank you very much.