The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, received the College of Commissioners of the European Union in Madrid on Monday.
This is one of the first events of the Spanish presidency of the Council of the EU.
“The responsibility that lies in our hands is immense. Europe faces major challenges at home and abroad. And to rise to them, inaction is not an option”, said Sánchez in a press conference with the President of the Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, after their meeting.
The President of the Government of Spain said that “the EU needs to make changes, take decisions, adopt measures”.
“And it must do so under our presidency, which will be the last fully operational one of the legislative cycle, because the elections to the European Parliament will take place in June next year”, he added.
Sánchez recalled the crises recently faced by the EU, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the fall of the Afghan government in 2021.
In all of them, Spain has worked in solidarity and responsibly with the other EU members, and it is in the “same spirit” that our country will work during the presidency of the Council, he stressed.
At the meeting with the commissioners, the first and foremost issue discussed was the present and future of Ukraine. “The Russian aggression has shaken the foundations of the West and brought back concerns and ghosts that we thought we had defeated. However, the whole world must be clear that we will not back down a single step, that the EU will support Ukraine for as long as the war lasts”, Sánchez said.
The responsibility that lies in our hands is immense. Europe faces major challenges at home and abroad.
For her part, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stressed that Spain is taking the helm of the presidency of the Council at a decisive moment when, she said, efforts to support Ukraine must be redoubled.
“It has been 500 days of suffering for the Ukrainian people, but also of their resistance as they fight for their freedom. Our duty is to live up to that resilience. We need regular and sufficient financial support”, stressed the president of the Commission.
In this regard, she stated that the EU needs the Spanish presidency to reach a rapid agreement to supply more ammunition to Ukraine and at the same time strengthen its own arms reserves.
Von der Leyen asserted that Europe will not be able to exist in the future without Ukraine, Moldova, the Western Balkans and all the European countries that are currently under the influence of Russia or China.
