Press conference by Chancellor of Federal Republic of Germany and President of the Government

Berlin

Ms. Merkel.- Good day, ladies and gentlemen.

It is a great pleasure for me to receive my Spanish counterpart here today at the Chancellery, although I also welcomed him yesterday at Meseberg Castle. We have also tried to show the positive side, the beauty of Brandenburg following our wonderful experience last year in Santiago de Compostela, when the President of the Government received me in his native land and we took a beautiful walk. I also tried to show him the wonders of Brandenburg but, of course, I hold very dear memories of my visit to Santiago de Compostela.

We have taken full advantage of our time, not only to exchange views on our respective locations but also to hold a political meeting. The President of the Government informed me of the situation in Spain, above all the economic situation. After a truly trying time and after undertaking many reforms, Spain now finds itself in a situation where it is going to enjoy a very good rate of growth, at twice the level of Germany, which shows that reforms lead to benefits, and that they are worthwhile. While the situation of the labour market remains a little difficult, many new jobs are being created and through that Spain is contributing to Europe's gradual exit from the crisis.

We also spoke about the situation in Greece. We hold very similar perspectives on the issue of the need for reforms, but also of the need for solidarity. Spain and Germany agree on this.

Spain is a country that we are working with in many areas. There are close economic relations and later we will attend the Germany-Spain Business Summit. There have also been many activities together with the trade unions and with the employers' associations in terms of how to combat youth unemployment and improve vocational training in Spain. Similarly, we have jointly supported European initiatives to combat unemployment and to ensure greater investment in Europe. Hence, there is intense cooperation.

Of course, we have also spoken about the situation in Germany and the international situation. We believe that, particularly in respect of Syria, we must do all we can to increase diplomatic efforts to bring the civil war to an end. We agree on how to proceed regarding Libya, in once again creating a State. Spain is presently a member of the UN Security Council and it also holds the presidency of one of its committees, and it has many possibilities of successfully taking on this responsibility.

We discussed the situation in Turkey and also the policies on asylum and refugees in civil wars. We agree that the European asylum policy is something that we must put into practice and that the Member States and the European Commission must take on their responsibilities. The Commission must draw up a list of safe countries of origin. Registration centres must be set up in Greece and in Italy in a shared effort, and those who are not entitled to stay must return to their respective countries of origin.

We also agree that those who truly suffer persecution, those coming from countries immersed in civil war, must be taken in through a fair distribution system according to the economic strength and situation of each country. We are aware that Spain has done a great deal in terms of those people hailing from Africa; we know that it is very positive that we have been able to forge a common position and I would also like to express my gratitude for that.

So, as a whole, they have been very important talks which have been most beneficial. We have insisted on cooperation and friendship, with the firm conviction that Europe is our common territory, although each country has its own national interests, and that Europe must also have a European approach to resolving common problems.

Once again, you are warmly welcome here. Thank you.

President of the Government.- Ladies and gentlemen, a very good day.

I wish to start this speech, although I also did this yesterday, albeit in a more formal manner, by thanking Chancellor Angela Merkel for this invitation. The truth is that it has been a very fulfilling day. I have had the opportunity to enjoy the wonderful location of Meseberg Palace, of exploring a wonderful beech forest with temperatures we are more used to in Spain than in Germany, but tremendously pleasant. And we also recalled, as the Chancellor mentioned in her opening speech, our meeting last year, on a similar date, in my home town of Santiago de Compostela. So, thank you very much, Angela. For me, this has been tremendously enjoyable.

I will try not to repeat the speech given by the Chancellor, so I will simply say the following:

We have exchanged opinions on many issues: on the economic situation in Spain, on issues relating to asylum and immigration, on the future of Europe, and also on Greece, Syria, Libya and Ukraine. I will limit my speech to just two or three issues.

As regards the Spanish economic situation, I outlined the changes that have taken place in our country between the years 2012 - practically when I came to power, back in December 2011 - and the year we now find ourselves in, 2015. We have gone from a situation of near bankruptcy, of economic recession and the continuous shedding of jobs where we were threatened with resorting to a bailout, to a very different situation: Spain is enjoying growth at present, it will grow by 3.3% this year and many new jobs are being created, although it is true that the major challenge on which we must focus, and a great deal, in the future, is the continued creation of jobs. You are aware that the objective set by the government is that in the next term of office we will see 20 million people in Spain in work, something which we can achieve if we don't change economic policy because between the years 2014 and 2015 a total of 1 million jobs will be created in our country.

I also brought up other positive figures on our economy. In the last week we have seen some very important figures announced, such as inflation at -0.4%. This is good because it helps the competitiveness of the Spanish economy and because it guarantees the purchasing power of the people of Spain. We have seen very positive results in terms of tourist numbers and retail trade, but I wanted to look more closely at two other areas: firstly, increased credit. You are aware that this was one of the most important challenges we faced in recent times and in July we have seen figures that show that new loans have increased in our country by 40% on July last year. This is a hugely positive figure and it is good for the people, it is good for Spaniards and it is good for the Spanish economy.

There is then another very important figure, one published by Eurostat, the European statistics office: the Economic Sentiment Index in Spain is the best in 14 years.

So, a brief summary of the situation of the Spanish economy, while remaining aware, as we are, that the major challenge remains the creation of jobs, because this also means that people can work, and that State revenues increase, which then also means that we can improve the operation of our public services.

The second comment is regarding Greece. We have very positively assessed the agreement that was adopted in the month of July. What is important now is that reforms are undertaken in Greece and the goal can be none other than economic growth and job creation. That is the basis for a country to be able to operate on its own, to stand on its own two feet, and I believe that, if the agreements that Greece signed up to are complied with, and that if things are done well, sensibly, with common sense and in compliance with the ground rules, things can improve for Greece, and furthermore, within a very reasonable period of time.

I would like to mention, thirdly, the issues of asylum and immigration. These are issues, as the Spanish journalists who are here know, that we are very familiar with in Spain. Let me just give you one figure: 10.6% of people in work are foreigners, 10.6%. Those are the figures that came out of the latest Labour Force Survey, that were published just recently. And that is without including those people with dual nationality, and they are many in our country. These are people who live in our country, who earned a dignified living, who are fully integrated and who defend our country as if it were their own.

We have undergone - because we are one of the countries in the European Union with external borders - situations and tragedies that are very similar to those being undergone at this time in other areas or on other borders of the European Union. And I must say that what we are going through here is the most important challenge that Europe will face in the coming years, have no doubts about that. We cannot stand by, and will not stand by and watch the things that are happening, and Europe cannot renounce what it is, a land of rights.

But this is a very complicated process and we must organise it between us all. I believe that we must work in two directions: I will distinguish between asylum and immigration on economic grounds. Regarding the issue of asylum, a proposal exists, which the Chancellor has just made, and which already has its forerunners in certain decisions that have been adopted by the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council whereby we must try to distribute all those people who request and are entitled to asylum in the European Union after analysing the situation in each country to see how many people it has received, what is its Gross Domestic Product, what is its unemployment rate, etc. Hence, I will support this approach, as we did at the last JHA.

However, it is also very important that the Commission does its job and I believe that there are two lines we must stress in the future: first, the Commission must clearly set down which countries of origin are safe, in other words, those countries that are unsafe are the only countries whose nationals can request asylum; and secondly, it would also be very positive for us to work to gradually harmonise legislation on asylum in all countries.

Then there is a further issue, which is immigration on economic grounds. This is a very important issue and we believe that a good part of the experience acquired by Spain can be put to good use at a European level. The following issues are fundamental to us: firstly, cooperation and collaboration with the countries of origin, cooperation, and I believe that it is important to help the countries of origin to improve economically; secondly, it is important to link up this cooperation and collaboration to the readmission agreements -which we call the European Return Programme; and thirdly, we need to fight together with the countries of origin against the mafias that cause these terrible situations and tragedies such as we have been witnessing in recent times.

This is an issue that we have been speaking about for a long time now in the European Union. Spain and other countries have had to act alone. I believe that things have worked well for the countries of origin and also for the European Union as a whole, but I believe that at this time the Commission must take a step forward, act decisively, with determination and courage, and I hope that this is what will happen.

On other issues I will not go into detail. We have spoken about Syria and Libya; it is fundamental to resolve the situation in both countries. We have also spoken about Turkey and other matters of less significance.

Thank you very much.

Q.- Chancellor, I wanted to know whether you have spoken with Mr Rajoy about the situation created in Spain by the pro-independence challenge in Catalonia, whether it concerns you and whether you believe that a unilateral declaration of independence would leave Catalonia outside of the European Union.

We also wanted to ask President of the Government Rajoy about the migratory crisis and whether Spain, the government, is prepared to increase the figure of refugees taken in announced by the Minister for Home Affairs, or whether this will be the maximum figure. I also wanted to know what you think about the initiatives taking place in some local and regional authorities in Spain to this end.

I also wanted to ask both of you about whether you have spoken during these talks about the electoral expectations of the People's Party and whether the Chancellor plans to visit Spain to support Mariano Rajoy, as she did with Nicolas Sarkozy.

Ms. Merkel.- We have spoken about current politics, as Prime Ministers and Presidents of Government tend to do. Against this backdrop, it is only natural that we should talk about the situation in Spain and what is happening in Catalonia. We share a very similar position. The European Union has certain Treaties and we must all respect those European Treaties that guarantee the sovereignty and territorial integrity of each State. That is why it is so important to respect national and international law, and things are no different in that respect here.

President of the Government.- You asked a very specific question about whether we are going to increase the number of people that Spain is going to take in. In principle, the approach we took at the latest meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council was for Spain to take in 2,739 people. That will not happen, and it is important to know this, because of an agreement of the European Council itself, until such time as Greece and Italy have made centres operational where the distinction will be made as to those people that are entitled to asylum and those people that have gone to Greece or Italy on economic grounds. So, it is of the utmost urgency for Greece and Italy to take decisions in order to start to implement this agreement taken by the European Council.

Aside from that, on 14 September a meeting will be held of the Justice and Home Affairs Council at which Spain's position will be wholly constructive. In other words, Europe requires consensus, it requires solidarity and it also requires that we all cooperate to the benefit of the interests of each one of us, but also to the benefit of everyone as a whole.

Hence, what we must discuss is what the criteria and parameters must be, and what will need to be taken into account to decide on these people entitled to ask for asylum from each country: we will need to see what weighting unemployment has in each country, the number of people from abroad who are already in that country, etc. But, I stress, for the time being, Spain will take in 2,739 people.

There is then another very important fact: the number of people who have requested asylum in Spain in recent times has tripled, although immigration on economic grounds continues to be far more common.

I will return to what I said before; that is, this is the most important challenge Europe has faced in recent times, and so it is key that we design a genuine European policy on the issue of asylum and immigration on which we all contribute but that, in the end, we must all agree on and reach an agreement on because, if not, aside from continuing with this humanitarian drama that we are undergoing, we clearly cannot offer a response as Europeans to this major issue we are facing.

Electoral expectations? We have spoken about many things. What I have said to the Chancellor is that we have gone through a very difficult time in Spain. Logically, there are many people who supported us in the past but who have not supported us in some of the recent elections, but I am convinced and I am hopeful that the People's Party will win the upcoming elections. And, in all sincerity, I believe that this would be positive for the people of Spain as a whole because we have shown that when you implement policies that are sometimes complicated, tough and difficult, but which are good policies, then these can lead to positive results.

So, we have made a great deal of progress but there is still a lot to do and I believe that it would be terrible to change Spanish economic policy at this time because you should keep on with what has been shown to work. We are now starting to reap the rewards and some results are coming through, but what we need are many more rewards and many more results.

Q.- A question for the Chancellor. In light of the situation of the refugees that are arriving in Germany by train, do you see responsibility on the part of Germany given this situation? Both Austria and Hungary are calling on Germany to clarify the legal situation and to know whether or not the Dublin Treaty is still in force.

And for the President of the Government, a question on what he has just said. You mentioned the figure of 2,739, but the European Union wants Spain to take in more refugees. Would you be prepared to accept the figures announced by the European Commission?

Ms. Merkel.- As regards the question on the Syrian refugees that are arriving in Germany, I don't see a specific responsibility for Germany. We have said that those who arrive in Germany have a high degree of probability of being given the status of civil war refugees and, given the situation in Syria, which will not surprise anyone. I believe that this is probably similar in all European countries.

For us of course, the current legal situation is the applicable one, but in practice, we realise that many things are not implemented, and the legal situation has not been put into practice. That is why we must work towards achieving a common asylum policy, just as we have discussed with Spain, instead of casting the blame on each other. The solution is to change things. We must set up reception centres in order to register the arrival of refugees, run by the European Commission, by the European Union, with the possibility of readmission so that economic grounds cannot be a justification for seeking asylum.

The criteria must be the same throughout the European Union and now, with 40,000 refugees, it is possible to open up a debate on these criteria. And it seems to me to be very interesting that, in principle, Spain will accept this principle of a fair distribution and that is the spirit with which we want to continue debating this issue with the rest of our partners.

President of the Government.- I will answer your question with four affirmations. Indeed, the European Commission made a proposal, we negotiated and in the end we took this decision of 2,739 refugees.

We are prepared to discuss the issue again; hence, this is a position that can be changed, but there are three things that are very important that the European Commission must do: first, it must ask Greece and Italy to set up these reception centres because, all the time they don't exist, all those agreements we reach serve no purpose, because they cannot be enforced. Hence, it is important to reach agreements but it is much more important to comply with the agreements.

Second important issue: it is necessary to implement a European asylum policy as soon as possible based on that which I said previously.

The third issue, which is also very important: it is necessary to implement a global immigration policy as soon as possible. In other words, what we are doing now - a fair and equal distribution - is all well and good, but this is not a global policy such as the European Union needs on issues of asylum and immigration. This is important, this is a step in the right direction, but we are either capable of drawing up, based on what I mentioned before, an asylum policy and an immigration policy, or we will never resolve this problem and we will continue to see such sad and dramatic situations as those that we have been witnessing, and there have been many of them, in recent times.

Q.- First of all, I have a question for the Chancellor. You have spoken about the economic situation in Spain, about growth and also about the political situation. It has been said that the greatest risk at this time - the government has said this - to economic growth in Spain is political uncertainty, both in terms of the elections in Catalonia and the fact that there is a major political force promoting secession, and in terms of the fact that in the upcoming elections in Spain the polls are pointing to a major political fragmentation. I was wondering whether this has been the subject of your talks and whether it constitutes cause for concern due to the effect that this may have on the rest of Europe given Spain's economic weighting in the European Union.

And I wanted to ask the President of the Government, talking about the situation in Catalonia, about the upcoming elections and whether you feel that the investigation that has been initiated, which has hit the headlines in recent days, regarding the payment of commissions of 3% to a political party, to Convergència Democrática, may affect the elections results, as you yourself admitted that the corruption scandals had in the latest local and regional elections to the detriment of your party.

And, returning to the subject of immigration, it seems that there is a certain flexibility - this can be deduced from your own words - regarding the ceiling on numbers that Spain would be prepared to take in as refugees; and I wanted to ask whether Spain would be prepared to accept the principle of a mandatory distribution of quotas, which is what had been done to date, based on a common asylum and refugee policy. Would Spain accept this principle if this equal distribution were not voluntary, but actually compulsory?

Ms. Merkel.- In fact, we had said one question per journalist, but you have asked three questions. They are waiting for us in a business summit; please take that into account.

As regards the question about stability in Spain, of course we are very interested in the successful economic policy implemented in the last few years continuing. Aside from that, we obviously won't get involved in election campaigns, but I have every faith in that the President of the Government and the policy that he has been implementing over recent years will also carry on into the future. Nor is it a secret that we do, in fact, form part of a European family of parties and I can say that in my capacity as the president of my party. In other words, I wish the President of the Government every success and I believe that the path of Spain is truly the way forward, it is progressing, and this will be something that many people will take into account when going to the polls in the upcoming elections.

President of the Government.- Guessing as to the future effect that a certain decision taken by the public prosecutor may have is something that I believe makes little sense. Of course, I believe that this has had its impact on my party.

But what most interests me, in relation to these elections, is that everyone turns out to vote. What most interests me is pointing out that we are going to defend our national sovereignty, in other words, that Spain will be what the Spanish people want. What most interests me is that it seems absolutely unfair to me that some seek to force the people of Catalonia to renounce one of their statuses, when at the present time they are Catalans, Spaniards and Europeans. Remaining outside Europe and remaining outside of Spain is something that makes no sense whatsoever. It seems profoundly unfair to me that someone should feel a foreigner in his or her own country. And of course, while I am President of the Government, I can guarantee that the law will be respected in our country and that Spain will not be broken into parts, as some would wish.

As regards flexibility, we have always been flexible; the issue is that things are negotiated. The agreement that was adopted is that no-one can impose anything on anyone else and indeed, there are certain countries that will not receive anyone under these quotas.

What I can say is that we will always adopt a constructive approach, because you cannot build a Europe made up of 28 countries through any other approach except through being constructive. So, we will be just that; but we also want to see the parameters that will regulate the distribution of these people. I can say that it is not the same having one unemployment rate as another, it is not the same having one border as another, the money that a country with borders has to spend is not the same as for one that doesn't.

First of all, we want to see the criteria. It is very difficult to take decisions or to say "I will do this, that or the other", without being fully aware of the reasons for this. What I can say is that we will be constructive; that the principle seems good to us; in other words, that those people who ask for asylum should be distributed among all the countries of the European Union, and that we must work together to distinguish - following a proposal from the European Commission - as to who is entitled to asylum and who isn't, in such a way that in the end the rights allocated to asylum-seekers in all EU countries are similar.

Q.- Madam Chancellor, you have said on various occasions that a German law on immigration is not urgent. Why not? Because many people see in that the possibility of speeding up the procedures for accepting asylum-seekers. This decision will soon be taken within your party. So you will have to take a decision and we can imagine at this time that you will have to accept it.

Ms. Merkel.- I believe I already said this yesterday, but, if you wish, I can repeat it. At present we have a situation that has completely changed: we have many jobs available and, sometimes, we lack qualified manpower. The possibility for legal immigration in our labour market already exists if someone can prove that they have a job waiting. So, I am not in favour of a points-based system, but rather than you can really show that you have a job waiting for you, and I believe that this is something we should advocate.

When I was in Albania and Serbia, I also said this: how can we improve the possibilities for in situ legal immigration? And we can also do this in Africa, to show that, if I come from a country of origin that is safe, perhaps I can find a job in Germany. But given the endless arrival of people here, many of whom will end up staying, I cannot say to you what the situation in the labour market will be like in a year, since there will be many people who wish to stay here, form part of the labour market, and perhaps hold job positions that are still available, in service activities, for example. And we will then need to see what happens with those job positions that are still available.

As regards the integration of those people who come here, we are unaware of their professions, and this is urgent and something I believe is understandable. And we will also hold a debate in this spirit within my party.

Thank you.