Mariano Rajoy announces that Spain will increase aid to refugees by 3.5 million euros

Justus Lipsius Building, Brussels

The President of the Government explained that Spain will increase the amount allocated by the General State Budget to organisations that support refugees - such as UNHCR and the World Food Programme (WFP) - by 3.5 million euros to 7 million euros. He said that this decision stems from the agreement reached by EU leaders to provide these organisations with 1 billion euros to help them respond to the most urgent needs of the refugees in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon. These measures will come into effect before the European Council meeting in October.

Mariano Rajoy went on to add that the EU has committed to increasing resources for the European External Border Control Agency (FRONTEX). "Border control efforts are going to be strengthened but we are also going to increase our help for these countries at the same time, which I believe is the most intelligent position and the best way to resolve the problem", he said. Although this topic will be discussed in greater depth at the meeting to be held in October, Spain already supports the proposal made by the European Commission to create a European border control and coastguard group. "I am in favour of anything that produces more European policies", he said.

European Union-African Union Summit

Mariano Rajoy announced that a summit will be held in Malta in November between the EU and the African Union to examine the problems of economic immigration. In this regard, he recalled that for some considerable time Spain has been asking Europe to produce a cooperation programme with African countries. "The only way to stop people leaving their countries, risking their lives and being manipulated by the mafias is for us to raise living standards and enable people to live decent lives in their own country", he said.

Mariano Rajoy also played down the importance of the decision from the European Commission to open disciplinary procedures against 18 EU countries for not applying European asylum laws.

On the regional elections in Catalonia

As regards the elections to be held in Catalonia on Sunday, the President of the Government said that he takes "comfort" from the fact that "important people" from society have come out to express their opinion on the sovereignty debate, "something that truly is ridiculous and incomprehensible in the 21st Century, the century of union, the century of integration" and that is "a backwards step that's going nowhere".

Mariano Rajoy said he hopes that, "after the 27th, we can tackle this issue sensibly, with common sense, and we see the end of this dynamic that merely creates division, generates tension, raises problems and seriously jeopardises the economic recovery currently under way in Spain".

Meeting with the Prime Minister of Portugal, Pedro Passos Coelho

EFEMariano Rajoy and the Prime Minister of Portugal, Pedro Passos Coelho, held a meeting before the start of the extraordinary European Council meeting. After this meeting, the President of the Government said that the migration crisis is one of the most important issues on the EU agenda, today and in the future.

He also recalled the position that Spain and Portugal have always defended in this regard. "We hope that the EU takes this issue seriously and gets to the root of the problems, which is always the best solution", he said.

Mariano Rajoy stressed that living conditions must be improved for people in their countries of origin because "no-one who leaves their country does so because they want to; they do so because they want to live a decent life or simply because they are being persecuted or are fleeing a warzone".