Spanish Presidency of the EU

2023-06-08 20:46:22

The College of Commissioners that presides over the German ‘popular’ Ursula von der Leyen He will advance his trip to Spain from July 7 to 3 to prevent the official visit for the start of the Spanish presidency of the EU coincides with the start of the electoral campaign for the July 23 elections.

The change of date has been agreed by Von der Leyen with the President of the Government, Pedro Sanchezas reported by the spokesman for the Community Executive, Eric Mamer, in a brief message broadcast on social networks.

In the same communication, Mamer clarifies that the trip, of a single day to Madrid, “will focus on joint work between the European Comission and the Spanish presidency”. From Moncloa they also emphasize that it is a regular visit in all the presidencies to advance in the preparation of the agenda for the semester and discuss the focus of the priorities set.

Government sources have specified to Europa Press that the date change It has been agreed by both in a conversation held this Thursday and that it responds to the institutional responsibility to avoid that anything interferes in this trip, where the commissioners take the opportunity to hold meetings with the ministers and advisers in charge of the portfolios that occupy them. Thus, they add, an attempt is made to keep the current presidency of the EU safe from the political battle.

Metsola postpones his trip without a date

The announcement comes hours after the European Parliament agreed to postpone undated the institutional trip scheduled for June 26 of the Conference of Presidentswith the president of the institution, Roberta Metsola, and the leaders of all the political groups with a presence in the Eurochamber.

In this case, the matter has been decided by the Conference of Presidents itself, understanding that it was not the right time given that the Cortes have already been dissolved as a consequence of the Electoral advance to July 23. The program for the MEPs included meetings with King Felipe VI and the President of the Government, as well as with national deputies.

Although the Socialists and Democrats have defended at the CoP meeting that the trip should be maintained because the rotating presidency will start without changes on July 1, the decision to postpone the trip without a date has been adopted with the votes of the European People’s Party (EPP). ), European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR, which includes Vox), Identity and Democracy (ID) and Greens (where ERC is integrated), according to what parliamentary sources have informed Europa Press.

In this regard, the leader of the European socialists, the PSOE MEP Iratxe García, lamented that the European People’s Party “has allied itself with the extreme right and with the independentistas to attack the Spanish presidency again”.