Press release – joint Conference of the Presidents Pedro Sánchez and Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Moncloa

MIL OSI Translation. Government of the Republic of France statements from French to English – Posted on July 27, 2018

Topic : Europe, International, development and francophonie

CONFERENCE JOINT

THE PRESIDENTS OF PEDRO SANCHEZ AND EMMANUEL MACRON AT THE PALACE OF MONCLOA

Madrid – Thursday 26 July 2018

THE CHAIRMAN : Thank you very much, thank you, Mr. President of the Spanish Government, dear Pedro SANCHEZ for these words and thank you for the courtesy that was to apologize for a delay which is not attributable to myself.

We have between us in the Pyrenees and I was in this beautiful chain, and the time was a little long. And so, please excuse me for this delay, Ladies and Gentlemen, but the President of the Spanish Government is not there for nothing.

So thank you for this welcome and this exchange for what is in effect the first trip that I carried out in Spain as the President of the Republic, after your visit to Paris in June for our first bilateral exchange.

Since, in the european Councils, telephone exchanges, we’ve had multiple times the opportunity to continue our dialogue and move forward on many issues. You recalled, the relationship between our countries is strong, it is historical, it is also forged, and strengthened each time that there has been a crisis or fighting in common.

And I thank you for the words you have had on the history of the past decades and the cooperation between our two countries on the subject of the ETA. These discounts were natural and it was a commitment

France has always been there as clearly each time that the crisis policies have been able to see the light of day in your country, because I believe that it is what unites us. This shared commitment to the rule of law, constitutional order, that our contemporary history has forged our 2 countries and that is the heart of the values that we carry within Europe.

The President of the Government recalled the two main topics in our exchange, but also of the work that may have been made during recent weeks by the Government, and I will start with the topic of migration.

The topic of migration, we have spoken at length at the last european Council, it is the object of a political crisis in Europe which you have followed (I would say) the various steps during the last few weeks and months. And I want in this context to say here how the cooperation between our two countries is exemplary, whether at the level of our common border but also more recently in the home, for example, the host Valence of the migrants who were on board the Aquarius.

Spain welcomed our offer of a mission of OFPRA, which has allowed us to identify 78 individuals meeting the criteria of the right of asylum, which arrived in France on Thursday, 12 July. And this cooperation constitutes an effective response, human, european, partnership. Malta, 9 member States have participated in the reception of persons covered by asylum law that were a few weeks later on the Life Line

And I believe that it is at the heart of the common philosophy that we carry on the topic of migration, only solutions co-operatives are one way of not only human, but really effective in Europe, given the geographical reality that is ours and the reality of migration flows, the so-called ” primary and secondary “.

Today, it is the challenge of the implementation of the conclusions of the european Council of June last, on which we have worked extensively between France and Spain. First, on the external component, we are making progress on all the actions in the countries of origin, transit, as we do in the Sahel and in Libya to break the chains of smugglers, deter the migrants to take unnecessary risks in crossing the Mediterranean and, more fundamentally, to stabilize the region and give Africa the means of its development.

I also believe that we convergeons perfectly in this process with the Spanish government, Spain is a pioneer in its relationship with several other african countries. It is now necessary to draw on this expertise to formulate a european strategy coherent and ambitious, in order precisely to strengthen our support to countries of origin and transit.

And we want the one and the other to intensify this work, which consists of a policy of co-operation, development and accountability of all of our african partners. I am looking forward to this title of the organization next by Spain to a regional Meeting of ministers in charge of migration from Europe and Africa, to develop joint initiatives to implement.

Then there is the protection of our common borders and we share, in doing so, the joint commitments to strengthen the financial resources and legal of Frontex, which will be the subject of the Commission’s proposals in September, which is also an important part of our migration strategy.

It is, in particular, to accelerate the procedures of return for failed asylum seekers. And therefore the joint protection of the finish and greater efficiency common for the return of those who do not have the right to asylum. On this point, we have a joint position that will allow us to respond jointly to the proposals made in September by the Commission.

We will also continue to work in liaison with the european Commission on the proposals made by the latter, on the basis of the ideas of the franco-Spanish centres controlled

Pane external border protection

The statement today, and this work will allow us, in particular in the area of external co-operation, to do even more.

On this subject, I believe I can say that both of our countries bear this vision any at the time of effectiveness, because we are committed to national cohesion and the need to maintain a control essential on the different migration flows, but of partnership with the countries particularly in africa, but also the spirit of humanism and solidarity which consists in rejecting any form of solution not in accordance with our values and the merits of a deeply non-effective.

Moreover, on this subject, all of the solutions that have been given us to see when they were only nationalists have had some success platform, but were quickly damaged on the reality of the situations. We can have friends nationalists from a neighbouring country, the day where we share a border, this nationalism does is combines most on these topics.

We also discussed the future of the euro zone and you will find it in the statement issued today the main conclusions we have reached. I remember for my part 3 main elements. First, Spain and France are part of the momentum of reform of the euro zone, led these last few months, embodied by the declaration of the franco-German Meseberg, and it is essential to maintain this momentum to achieve concrete progress by the end of the year. And we are the one and the other deeply committed to the discussion that we had at the June Council can decline in a agenda at the level of heads of State and government until the end of the year, with regular appointments, and it is the request that we made to the president TUSK, in order to have a Commits concluding in December on this point.

Second element, I note that Spain, like France, is firmly on the side of the ambition on the reform of the euro zone, whether on the banking Union, with the safety net fund single resolution and the establishment of a european guarantee on deposits

And as president SANCHEZ said it well, it is through quiet time that we need to find these agreements, it is precisely because we have been able to meet – sometimes too late sometimes so difficult, and Spain has paid the price on the political and social – that we need to provide the structures, the elements of responsibility and solidarity within the eurozone to prevent future crises and the potential imbalances.

Finally France and Spain will work together and with our partners in europe to make detailed proposals on the budget of the euro area by the fall. And we have also discussed the need for a better consideration of the social dimension of the economic and monetary Union, both in our monitoring procedures at european but also in the way we manage the structural and cohesion funds

These battles that for my part I have been wearing for a little over a year, that I had been exposed to the speech of the Sorbonne, are at the heart of this Europe that is more sovereign and more united in economic and social matters.

The european Union and within the euro area will not permanently advance, progress as more integration but also greater clarity in our goals of social convergence by putting in place precisely those mechanisms… and fiscal convergence also, by putting in place mechanisms such as the taxation of digital companies.

Our close proximity on the european topics is not limited to the themes of migration and the euro-zone finally, but extends to many subjects. The defence of Europe, for example, and I would like to acknowledge the participation of Spain in the launch of the european initiative intervention, which will help to maintain the excellent cooperation that already exists between our two armies.

It is also this same agreement, the same convergence of spirit that we find on the subjects of business that could come back, I imagine, in the framework of the issues and in our desire to avoid any conflict trade in the present time, but also to avoid any laxity guilty, which could lead to have agreements making us give up our ambitions in agricultural

Tomorrow in Lisbon, we will have the opportunity to illustrate another dimension of the convergence on european issues, on the occasion of the summit hosted by the Portuguese Prime minister on the interconnections and the energy transition.

And we share the same ambition to make Europe a fer-de-lance of this transition and, therefore, we will have the pleasure of not only being in a few moments for a dinner at the invitation of the King, but also that we should return tomorrow to Portugal to continue this joint work.

So thank you, Mr. President of the government, dear Pedro, for the welcome and the pleasure of this exchange and especially the work that we will pursue together.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Please accept our apologies should the grammar and/or sentence structure is not be perfect.