​Mariano Rajoy brings forward forecast of 20 million Spaniards in employment to 2019

Ribadumia, Pontevedra

Mariano Rajoy expressed great satisfaction with the unemployment figures corresponding to the month of July and predicted that, "if we keep going like this", it will be possible to achieve the figure of 20 million people in employment a year ahead of the original forecast. "I believe that, if we keep going like this - but a prudent approach is always advisable - we can achieve it in 2019", he said.

The President of the Government added that this "excellent data" follows on from all the other positive results achieved during the year. He went on to say that the increase in permanent employment and in contracts for people "who have been unemployed for a long time", together with the growing number of young people finding a job, which "is four times higher than the rest", are especially "significant".

Catalonia

The President of the Government then described the ruling by the Constitutional Court declaring the unconstitutional nature of the decision from the Parliament of Catalonia aimed at approving a law to call a referendum in 24 hours as "positive". "It would be an illegal act, yet another one, because what they were rightly told yesterday is that a law calling a referendum to divide Spain cannot be approved in one day", he said.

Mariano Rajoy added that "a different scenario" would arise if the Government of Catalonia continues to maintain this position. At any event, he said, "we will continue working, defending democracy, the law and rules we all wrote together, which we are all bound to follow, whether we are political leaders, other leaders or members of the general public".

Furthermore, the President of the Government stressed that, "it must be said - with complete calm and moderation - that there will be no referendum on 1 October".

In this regard, and depending on the decisions adopted by the Parliament of Catalonia, he did not discard the possibility of holding an extraordinary Council of Ministers meeting in August - ahead of the scheduled date of 25 August - for the first meeting of government following the summer break.

The CUP

Mariano Rajoy regretted that the CUP [Popular Unity Candidacy], "an organisation of radical extremists" and "with election programmes last seen centuries ago", is conditioning the entire process in Catalonia. "Without the CUP, all these things that are being done could not go ahead because there would not be enough votes", he said.

The President of the Government also criticised the recent attack on a tourist bus in Barcelona. He said that these actions "reveal an unfathomable foolishness because tourism accounts for over 10% of GDP in Spain and provides work for over two million people". He went on to explain that, moreover, Catalonia is the autonomous region visited by the most tourists, approximately 18% of the total.

In this regard, he added that tourism "represents wealth for us all" and "generates work", meaning that to go "against something that creates jobs and wealth demonstrates a certain degree of small-mindedness".

Venezuela

On the matter of Venezuela, the President of the Government said that the situation in this country "is of particular concern to us" due to the historical and cultural ties that unite us and the 200,000 Spaniards who live there. He referred to the instruction issued by Minister Dastis for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to issue a statement made public on Tuesday in which it was announced that "Spain would not recognise the Constituent Assembly under any circumstances because it is illegal, anti-democratic and amateurish".

Mariano Rajoy said that Spain is working on two lines of action at present. Firstly, a meeting scheduled for next week being prepared by the Peruvian Minister for Foreign Affairs to be attended by all the foreign affairs ministers of Latin America; and, secondly, talks with the European Union via the High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini.

Regarding the latter, the President of the Government explained that the first proposal that the Government of Spain will make to the EU will be "to eliminate authorisation for travel to Spain and the elimination of visas for people affected under the Venezuelan regime".

To conclude, the President of the Government sent a message to the people of Venezuela in which he stressed that the world, the EU and Spain, naturally, "stand alongside them" and that "we will not abandon them under any circumstances. Of course, the 21st Century is not a time for people to return to the tyrannies of the past".

Non official translation