Press conference by President of the Government following meeting of Heads of State and Government of the European Union

Bratislava (Slovakia)

Ladies and gentlemen, a very good afternoon and thank you for attending this press conference.

As you will all remember, and as we agreed in Brussels following the referendum in the UK on 23 June, 27 members of the European Council decided to meet up here, in Bratislava, on an informal basis and without the United Kingdom. We have principally done this for two reasons:

- The first is to reiterate our commitment to the European integration process, which has made Europe a space for peace, liberty, security, respect for human rights and economic and social progress, and this integration process is undoubtedly the best way to tackle the serious internal and external challenges we face in Europe.

- Secondly, we have met because we are well aware of the concerns and fears of our citizens, who demand that we make a good diagnosis and offer an effective response to their concerns. And the diagnosis is clear and shared by everyone.

After the worst economic crisis in the history of European integration, the most serious refugee crisis that Europe has suffered since the Second World War and the increase in terrorist attacks on European soil, doubts have been raised and, in many cases scepticism, on the EU's ability to effectively respond to these challenges. The 'Brexit' referendum has been one of the most serious of these challenges.

And, as has always happened in our history, the populists, radicals, nationalists and extremists of all hues have taken advantage of the crisis to bring the European project into question. These anti-European populists solely base their ideologies on the failures of the EU whilst ignoring its many virtues and great contributions to the welfare of the people who live on this continent. Just think about the effects that our membership, back in 1986, of the European institutions has meant for the Spanish people, because, since then, we have enjoyed the greatest period of welfare and progress ever, as well as being in a union where democracy, liberty, human rights and fundamental rights of people are absolutely non-negotiable.

So, today's meeting opens up a process, not of reflection, but of action, that must culminate in March next year in Rome and we have reached an agreement to devote all of our efforts in Europe to concerning ourselves with those things that matter to our citizens.

The key to this debate is security. People want security. That is what they demand, first and foremost, from their leaders: security from terrorism, and also from foreign threats and the risks surrounding the sustainability of the Welfare State, which is the fundamental pillar of the European model, and is undoubtedly the best model in the world.

Our citizens want - I have greatly insisted on this - us to take effective measures to grow and create jobs, which is a necessary condition, moreover, to ensure their healthcare, education, pensions, social services and everything that constitutes the pillars of our Welfare State.

And I placed great emphasis on this issue, which for Spain, as you know, is a priority. We still have to recover the levels of employment and well-being that we enjoyed prior to the start of the crisis. This threshold for Spain stands at 20 million people in work and this means that we can create half a million jobs a year, as we have done in 2014 and 2015 and will also do this year, in 2016. And we must focus all our efforts on achieving this goal.

In this regard, I welcome and support the proposals made by the presidency of the Commission on the development of the digital economy and the single energy market. I repeat, it has our support.

Security also means the ability to defend our borders and protect them from external threats and this, in a globalised world, can only be done effectively if we act together.

In today's world, separation leads to irrelevance and, worse still, to impotence. You are aware of my position in this regard. I believe that border countries must be supported by everyone in order to be effective in protecting our borders, but we have always advocated dialogue and cooperation with the countries of origin and transit of migrants.

We support all measures of solidarity with those people who flee from armed conflict or terror and we also advocate all potential improvements in terms of measures to combat terrorism and for Europe to be able to be more and better involved in tackling armed conflicts on our doorstep.

Lastly, I wish to publicly thank the Slovak Prime Minister, Robert Fico, for having welcomed us here today, and the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, for calling us and for preparing our debates. Allow me to also make a special mention of the President of the European Commission. He has demonstrated his leadership here today, as he did two days ago in the European Parliament, and he has proposed ambitious initiatives, which are heading in the right direction in terms of what we need at this transcendental time that we are going through in the EU.

I am now ready to take any questions.

Q.- President of the Government, I wanted to mention a couple of national issues if you will allow me. We have seen a series of news items this week related to cases of corruption: the decision by the Supreme Court in relation to Rita Barberá, the "ERE case"… I wanted to know how you think all these cases could influence the political situation at this time, in this stalemate Spain is suffering from.

On another note, I also wanted to know your opinion on the specific issue of the former Mayor of Valencia refusing to give up her seat in the Upper House of Parliament.

President of the Government.- What is important in terms of forming a government is the attitude of Mr Sánchez, who has not proposed any alternative, because the only alternative he could propose would be very harmful to the interests of Spain and he has not accepted any of the proposals we have made: first, a coalition, which I believe at this time would have been the best thing for our country in light of the results of the elections; second, if he didn't want that, reaching an agreement on six or seven issues that are key for the future of the people of Spain and which, moreover, affect their daily lives, which he didn't want either; but then he didn't even want to agree to the only reasonable option remaining, which was to allow the party that won the elections to govern. That is what is important in trying to form a government.

As regards the issues you have enquired after, I must say that I respect all judicial decisions and that what we must all try to do is to ensure that these things never happen again. If there is one fact that is important, it is that there is no impunity in Spain; our courts act and it is the courts that decide whether those people who are tried are innocent or guilty. I believe this to be a very important fact and that it lies with the courts, logically, to decide or the innocence or guilt of those people you have referred to.

In relation to your question about Rita Barberá, as you know, Rita Barberá has left the People's Party. We asked her some time back to leave the party rank and file but, aside from that, the President of the People's Party has no more authority over her.

Q.- I am sorry for insisting, President of the Government, but I wanted to continue to ask you about the issue of Rita Barberá. Because of what has happened, you haven't spoken to her in recent days. I don't know if you have a conversation pending with her or whether, as even some people in your party have demanded, but above all the opposition, you should ask her, even though you have no authority over her, to stand down as a member of the Upper House.

President of the Government.- Don't apologise for insisting. You are quite right, if you see that as fit and opportune, but, in all honesty, I have answered the question. Rita Barberá is no longer a member of the People's Party, and hence, the President of the People's Party has no authority over her, in the same way that I don't over many other people.

Q.- President of the Government, in recent days an internal debate has taken place in the Socialist Party. I wanted to know whether you feel this is positive for resolving the political stalemate in Spain and if it makes you feel more optimistic about the possible formation of a government in the coming weeks.

I also wanted to ask you about the cases of corruption and the "case of the ERE". Do you believe that will also take away the moral high ground from the Socialist Party when criticising the People's Party and you yourself over the cases of corruption involving the PP?

President of the Government.- In reality, corruption is not an issue of one party or another, or something involving one specific organisation; that is, corruption is something that is tied in to the human condition. At any event, I am not going to classify any of the issues you have asked me about. It will be the courts that have to decide on what has happened in the case of the ERE; that is down to the courts. For the time being, the courts are acting, taking steps and, in the end, they will say whether people are innocent or guilty. But I, of course, am not going to state, as many other people do, whether people are innocent or guilty, because that task lies with the courts.

But what I must say is that this may happen to anyone, as we have seen, and what I think those of us who have a political responsibility must do is what we have tried to do recently: present laws, act forcefully, reach agreements and set the key objective as not seeing a repetition of this ever again in our country. That is how I see things.

As regards the internal debate, I cannot, nor should I, get involved in a debate that may take place in another party. Each one of us, logically, takes his own decisions, forms opinions, handles things and governs how one sees fit and deems opportune. What I can say is that people are surprised here, whenever I come to a European meeting, regarding the situation that is taking place in Spain. And the most surprising thing is not that he who wins does not govern; the most surprising thing is that no reasonable alternative has been proposed to the winner of the elections, and hence, there is an intention, which is what there would seem to be, to call fresh elections. This is something truly unheard of, this is something surprising, and believe me that I find it hard to understand exactly what this is down to.

But, in the end, what the Socialist Party decides is what the Socialist Party decides, and no-one else. It is down to you to form an opinion on that and for me to respect their decisions whether I like them or not.

Q.- President of the Government, please, when you speak about "greater security in Europe", I would like to know what Spain feels this greater security to comprise; for example, what changes in economic policy, whether Spain is in favour of greater control at internal border posts, whether Spain agrees on resuscitating the project for a form of European defence or whether Spain is willing to devote more money precisely to this European defence.

President of the Government.- I believe that security… When I speak about security, I am referring to three or four very specific things: firstly, terrorism. The number of terrorist acts in Europe has increased a great deal since we were hit in Madrid, which as you will remember perfectly well, was back in 2004. This last year and 2015 have been especially hard and bloody; we all recall the terrorist attacks that have taken place.

In the speech I gave here today I said that, from my point of view, the most important thing we could do now on the issue of the fight against terrorism… There are undoubtedly many measures, everything can be improved upon, but the most important thing is to have greater coordination and the maximum exchange of information possible between the different information services of the various countries. I truly believe this to be key. And I know that this is difficult, because the information agencies guard their information closely. This is not easy. I believe that a great deal of progress has been made. In all honesty, I am satisfied and I believe that the Spanish law enforcement agencies and our National Intelligence Centre are acting very well, but I believe that this is one of the areas we must work the hardest on in the future.

You mentioned defence policy to me. I obviously believe that it is important to make progress on defence policy, always improving collaboration throughout Europe together with a united defence policy through NATO. Europe is intervening… And Spain as well; we are one of the countries that have taken the greatest part in several European Union operations. But, in all honesty, we believe that Europe must be stronger and have greater capabilities to be able to intervene, like the major powers, on issues that directly affect us, when we see what is happening in Libya or is happening in Syria. There are clearly many problems there that affect us as European citizens: what is happening with the refugees or what is now happening in Libya and throughout the Mediterranean. Apart from the terrible personal drama of this, because it is terrible what is happening, this truly affects our governments, our people and creates many problems for our budgets, etc.

There is one positive fact, which was mentioned both in the speech given by the President of the Commission, Mr Juncker, and in the speech given by the President of the European Council today, which is that the European Union will pay special attention - an issue on which we began to talk in earnest at the Valletta Summit in Malta last year - to Africa. This is a claim we have been making for many years now. We must help countries on the African continent to create more jobs, to have a better education system and to improve their levels of well-being and standard of living, because acting at source is undoubtedly where the solutions lie to many of the problems I have mentioned.

Then there is another issue, which is economic security. Europe has, as you are all aware, the best welfare system in the world. Sometimes we punish ourselves mercilessly and only talk about all the negative things. Europe has many problems but, of course, who else has a public pension system like in Europe? Who has a public health system like in Europe? Or an education system? Or a social services system? Or a system of aid and benefits for people? This is the hallmark of our continent that we must preserve and, whenever possible, improve on. That requires having strong economies, competitive economies, that generate resources and of course, having the fastest rate of growth possible and as many jobs as possible, because that is the key to everything. That is why we have always placed the issue of job creation as a priority.

This economic crisis has placed many things in many countries in doubt. There were those who had to take very harsh decisions while there were others who were able to come out on top without taking such tough decisions as others.

So, indeed there is a security issue here. People want the security of knowing that they are always going to receive their pension, of knowing that they will be attended to if they go to the doctor, and I believe that this must be one of the main European goals in the near future.

Today we spoke a little about Banking Union; we spoke a little about going to make progress on the Single Market; above all, I placed great emphasis on the issues of energy and the digital market - that means competitiveness, and hence, growth and job creation - and we spoke a little about Economic and Monetary Union. We suggested that the proposal made in June last year by the five Presidents to continue taking steps should require a European Council debate to see where we should be heading. But we have tried to prioritise the real needs of people, in those areas in which people want the European Union to provide a response, which are the issues of security and protection, in essence.

Q.- President of the Government, I wanted to return to the case of Rita Barberá. It seems clear that, with the law on her side, Ms Rita Barberá is the only one who can decide on her seat, whether to keep it or leave it, and that you, as party president, has no authority over her. But I would like to ask you whether you feel that the step she has taken to leave the party is sufficient or whether you believe that it would be a good gesture vis-à-vis our citizens, with the situation how it is, for her to leave her seat in the Upper House.

President of the Government.- I understand your interest, but I also consider that I have already answered that question.

Q.- President of the Government, in recent months we have seen an alliance being forged between the Mediterranean countries. A summit was recently held in Athens and yesterday the Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, said that he wanted to speak about the imbalances in the Eurozone, about the question of economic imbalances in countries like Germany, which also affect other countries. I would like to know how this debate unfolded, whether Spain is aligned with these approaches and, in general, if you could reveal to us a little about the tone of these meetings. President Tusk had asked everyone to be brutally honest; I don't know if you have been. What did this intention derive from?

President of the Government.- Going into detail about how these debates unfolded is not something that falls to me to say because, logically, everyone can give their own subjective opinion; but I will give you a few thoughts.

First of all, there is a tremendous concern, although it is true that more in some countries than in others - for example, this is a major concern in Greece, and maybe Hungary and in other countries, such as Croatia - about the issue of refugees following the agreement with Turkey. There are still many refugees in Greece, the whole re-location and re-settlement process is not going as smoothly as we would like it to. We have already brought over more than 600 people and, even today, some people have arrived in Spain from Greece; we are the fifth-highest leading country in this regard in the European Union. And we must continue to make an effort on this matter. Then, of course, there are other countries that are less affected, although they may be more affected by other issues.

We also spoke about the issue of Africa; as I mentioned to you. Africa needs a type, to give it a name, of Marshall Plan - we don't describe it as such - of aid.

We also spoke about the issue of terrorism. As you know, this has affected many countries. This is another subject we spoke about.

And we also spoke about the issue of defence and we spoke about what was, in principle, the great message to send out from today's meeting: that there are 27 countries that are pushing on with the European process and there are 27 countries that want greater European integration. This is a very important message. Faced with all those who only want to convey things that are negative to public opinion and faced with all those who are planning, because others are planning them, referendums such as the one in the United Kingdom - there are already political parties, in different parts of the European Union, who are planning to carry them out, what we have done is close ranks in regard to the European project.

In the not too distant future, in March next year, 60 years after the Treaty of Rome… I always say: just compare what happened in the 60 years prior to this date of 1957, with two world wars in Europe, with what happened afterwards. Europe has many more things, a great many more, that are positive than negative and, of course, as I said earlier, I believe that this is an objective fact in regard to Spain.

I have not seen great differences, if that is what you are asking me… The debates always include issues such as the Stability Pact, whether regarding the deficit you can… This has not been the subject of debate today nor does it figure in what Mr Tusk and his colleagues are going to tell you, in they haven't done so already. It is true that there are some countries that want to combine the requirement for meeting the deficit with a certain flexibility, but that is already happening, because in the case of Spain, I have gone through this process twice: I remember in 2012 that the deficit target we had been set was 4.4% and yet we had a deficit in 2011 of 9% and I stood up and said that this was impossible, that I couldn't drop it from 9% to 4.4% in a recession. And we were given a new path but, as you will remember, not long ago we were given yet another path: in theory the public deficit for this year should have been 2.8% but, in the end, the new path states 4.6%, which is truly an exercise in common sense.

I believe that the rules, which are good, because I believe that always living off credit is not good, must be applied with a certain degree of flexibility and Spain, fortunately - let's see how long this lasts- is growing at above 3% - the latest year-on-year figure is 3.2% - and it is creating jobs. We are going to reduce the deficit, we are going to meet our commitments, but I repeat: we already have flexibility; there may then be certain nuances and the Italian Prime Minister… He didn't propose this today, but he proposed it another time - I think he must have proposed it in Greece; I can't remember exactly when he proposed it - that certain types of spending should not be computed for the purpose of the deficit procedure. That is a very complex decision.

As far as I am concerned, I am convinced by the current model, that is, that we cannot spend what we don't have; but you then need to be flexible, as in any other walk of life, and act with common sense.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much. Let's finish now.