Author: Killian Kehoe

Introduction  

Following a smoothly run yet challenged Swedish Presidency, the Spanish take on the mantle of the rotating EU Presidency for the first half of 2010. In doing so, they inherit many of the challenges faced by the Swedes.  

This has no doubt informed the Spanish priorities announced last month, which include implementing the Lisbon Treaty (giving particular attention to the Charter of Fundamental Rights), addressing the economic crisis and stewarding an effective recovery, increasing a sense of EU citizenship (for example by improving gender equality) and finally, promoting Europe’s role in the world. This piece will set out the unique context of the Spanish Presidency before moving quickly through the priorities of the Presidency. 

Breaking New Ground 

The Spanish Presidency will be the first Presidency of the Council of the European Union to co-exist with the Lisbon inventions of the President of the European Council (Herman Van Rompuy) and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (Catherine Ashton), both of whom were appointed on 20 November 2009.  

The logic that informed the creation of these two new posts was to introduce greater continuity and a unity of voice and vision. Consequently, the rotating European Presidency has certainly been downgraded in terms of importance, and this is reflected by the fact that Mr. Van Rompuy will chair EU summits of heads of state and government and Baroness Ashton will chair meetings of EU foreign ministers.  

For their part, both Jose Luis Zapatero (the Spanish Prime Minister) and Miguel Angel Moratinos (the Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs) have repeatedly and somewhat emphatically indicated that the Spanish Presidency will be a particularly accommodating one with regard to these new office-holders and will involve a high level of co-operation between it, Mr. Van Rompuy and Baroness Ashton. In fact Mr. Moratinos has already gone so far as to state that both the President and the High Representative will be the ones leading Europe in the first six months of 2010 rather than Spain.  

However, despite the fact that Spain will have to share the stage on the policy-making front, it appears at this point that the Spanish Presidency, and perhaps future rotating presidencies, will retain significant control and influence over the policy direction of the Union. The role of setting out the policy priorities for the next six months remains, and Spain will also chair nearly all of the monthly ministerial meetings (apart from those involving the Foreign Affairs Council), as well as chairing the influential weekly meetings of EU ambassadors, where many of the hard negotiations take place and the initial compromises are made.   

Critics say that the addition of two new roles to the leadership mix creates a rather confusing poly-vocality, and this ought to be simplified by removing the rotating presidency altogether.  

This argument is borne out by the fact that in this rather crowded picture of would-be leaders there have already been some early signs of potential power struggles. The Spanish have already organised an ambitious programme of seven international summits in cities across Spain (with Morocco, Canada, Mexico, Latin American and Caribbean countries, the US, Egypt and Mediterranean countries), thereby taking the lead in this field, rather than Mr. Van Rompuy. Mr. Moratinos has reserved an ‘important role’ for the Spanish Prime Minister, while conceding that Mr. Van Rompuy will nevertheless chair the summits and face the press. This approach contrasts slightly with that of the Belgian government, which has stated that all such international summits will be hosted by Mr. Van Rompuy in Brussels during its presidency.  

A further indication of potential difficulties is the fact that an informal meeting of foreign ministers will be chaired by Mr. Moratinos in Cordoba on 5th March, rather than by Baroness Ashton, creating some uncertainty about her role and involvement.  

In the light of this early confusion, it is unsurprising that Van Rompuy on the first day of his new job called for an EU summit in Brussels on 11th February to discuss tackling the economic crisis. He appears to have done this independently of the Spanish government and it has been perceived to be an effort on his part to set out his stall and assert himself in his new role.  
 

The Priorities Themselves – Too Far or Not Far Enough? 

The announced priorities of the Spanish Presidency fall under a number of headings.  
 

1. Addressing the economic situation

The Spanish agenda will be dominated by the need to address the economic crisis. In particular, there is a need to replace the Lisbon strategy, which is due to expire this year. The Lisbon strategy was a Union-wide policy set out by the European Council in March 2000. It was designed to stimulate economic growth, to create more and better jobs, while making the economy greener and more innovative.  

It sought to achieve this by encouraging member states to invest in knowledge and innovation, to increase competitiveness, to cut administrative burdens and barriers for SMEs and to invest in knowledge-based jobs and skills training for European citizens. In light of the current crisis, it is widely accepted by both commentators and by the Spanish government itself (link) that the Lisbon strategy needs to be improved upon.  

Mr. Moratinos has outlined that there needs to be a greater focus on enforcement mechanisms in the successor policy, currently known as the ‘EU 2020 strategy’, if economic governance from Brussels is to be strengthened. The European Commission has already launched a consultation process on the ‘EU 2020 strategy’, the results of which will be presented to the European Council summit in March.  

Amongst a number of utterances on Spain’s economic priorities, one interesting ambition is to develop a new system to supervise the international financial system, which Mr. Zapatero has called a ‘Systemic Risk Council’. This would be designed to provide the Union with an early-warning system to highlight potential crises before they occur. Mr. Zapatero has also highlighted his government’s intention to take forward a package of legislation designed to tackle tax fraud through the exchange of information between member states.  

In addition to these policy proposals, the Spanish agenda is also likely to be affected by the profound fiscal crises developing in both Greece and Latvia, in which the EU seems set to become very involved.  
 

2. The Implementation of the Lisbon Treaty

The European Council’s choice of Baroness Ashton as High Representative for Foreign Affairs has yet to be approved by the European Parliament. Baroness Ashton’s status will be clarified once the European Parliament votes on whether to accept or reject the new college of European Commissioners on 1st February. The design and set-up of the External Action Service (EAS) will form a very important element of the Spanish Presidency, as will the drafting of a regulation outlining the operation of the citizens’ initiative.  

The integration of the 18 so-called “phantom MEPs” to accommodate the larger European Parliament envisaged under Lisbon will also be a focus of the Spanish. Interestingly, four of these MEPs will be Spanish. It is expected that the increase will be achieved through the adoption of a draft protocol which would be appended to the Lisbon Treaty after being ratified by all member states.   
 

3. Increasing a sense of citizenship

While fleshing out the details of the citizens’ initiative is vital, the Spanish Secretary of State for European Affairs, Mr. Lopez Garrido, has also highlighted the need to close the gap between the citizen and the Union, perhaps bearing in mind low turnouts for European parliamentary elections as well as the initial rejection of the Lisbon Treaty in Ireland.  

The Spanish have identified the importance of the Stockholm Programme for freedom, security and justice. This was launched in December 2009 and is a framework for EU police and customs co-operation, criminal and civil law co-operation and asylum, migration and visa policy for 2010 – 2014. In particular, the Spanish plan to draft legislation to fight violence against women and to establish a European Observatory of Domestic Violence.  
 

4. Europe in the World

There is no doubt that the formation of the EAS has real potential to invigorate and drive significant developments in EU foreign policy and influence, but as mentioned above, the Spanish programme of international summits suggests that the early momentum is with the Spanish rather than Mr. Van Rompuy, which may create some early confusion. Both the Euro-Mediterranean relationship and the Euro-Latin America relationships appear to be central strategic priorities for the Spanish, and there has been a suggestion of a softening of relations with Cuba.  

In terms of enlargement, the refusal of the Icelandic President to sign the Icesave compensation bill may have repercussions for that country’s membership application. In addition addressing currently difficult relations between Greece and Macedonia, as well as Cyprus and Turkey is likely to occupy the Presidency over the coming months. The Spanish government has also indicated that it hopes to conclude the accession of Croatia and that it will support the accession application of Serbia. With regard to recognition of Kosovo, Mr. Moratinos has stated that Spain would adopt a constructive but neutral stance on discussions regarding the country. Spain is one of five EU countries that currently does not recognise Kosovo.  

Mr. Moratinos has also expressed strong support on the part of the Spanish Presidency for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in the Middle East.  
 

5. Europe’s Horizon – the Reflection Group on the Future of Europe

In the wake of the arduous ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, it’s worth noting that the Spanish Presidency will coincide with the presentation of the results of the Reflection Group on the Future of Europe, which are expected in June. The group was established by the European Council on 17 December 2007 with a view to outlining a much sought-after vision for the future of the EU. Its report is expected to be a 20 – 30 page document, and will be compiled by a group of notables headed by the former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez and including some well-known figures such as Lech Walesa and Mario Monti.  

Conclusions 

The Spanish Presidency will certainly set important precedents for the trio of rotating presidencies, which will include Belgium (July – December 2010) and Hungary (January – June 2011). Most importantly, it remains to be seen whether it will successfully negotiate a balance for the rotating presidency that respects the new roles of the President of the European Council and the High Representative, while maintaining some level of influence and individual direction on the next six months of the Union. Only time will tell.