December 22, 2009. Copyright 2009, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Spain prepares to shape post-Lisbon EU
By Joanna Griffin

LONDON, December 22, Graphic News:  After the ratification of the Lisbon treaty and the appointments of the first European president and foreign affairs chief, the next country to take over the rotating EU presidency could perhaps be forgiven for coasting through its own six months at the helm, just letting the dust settle on what is a major reorganisation. Not Spain.

Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has a grand vision for Spain's turn in the hot seat, which begins in January. He wants to promote the Union's role as a leader in "a multipolar world", boosting global solidarity by strengthening ties with Africa and Russia, and making fresh efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East. Turkey will be counting on Madrid to back its troubled campaign to join the Union.

Closer to home, Spain wants to ensure that tight EU financial regulations are in place before it hands over to Belgium on June 30. So far EU finance ministers have agreed to create three watchdogs to keep an eye on insurers, trading exchanges and banks, as well as an agency to monitor the economy. The City might not like it, but Zapatero can argue that, thanks to its tight rules, none of Spain's banks have needed rescuing.

Neither can Spain, which has almost 20 percent unemployment, afford to simply wait for the global recession to end. It wants the EU to coordinate economic policy more closely to achieve job creation and a lasting recovery, and any strategy is likely to include developing green technologies and promoting education and research.

One goal that might be easier to achieve is the introduction of laws to tackle domestic violence around the EU: in 2005 Spain set up special courts and treatment centres for victims of domestic violence, and it hopes to replicate this on a bigger scale.  

Of course, to achieve any of this, Spain will also be hoping that the top appointments and agreement on Lisbon streamline the day-to-day working of the EU, rather than the opposite.
/ENDS