Arrival of José Luis ZAPATERO, Spanish Prime Minister, welcomed by Jerzy BUZEK, EP President. Statement on Spanish EU presidency programme by José Luis ZAPATERO, Spanish Prime Minister. Spain's key priorities are implementing the Lisbon Treaty, economic recovery, external relations and a Europe of rights and freedoms.

debate

plenary session

EU - Spain (T)

BUZEK, Jerzy (EPP, PL)

ZAPATERO, José Luis (ES)

Spanish Presidency of the EU (T)

Programme of the Spanish Presidency - Statement by José Luis ZAPATERO, Spanish Prime Minister: extracts

exterior of the European Parliament Strasbourg

Arrival of Jose Luis Zapatero, Spanish Prime Minister, President in Office of the European Council, to the European Parliament, Strasbourg greeted by Jerzy BUZEK, EP President 

Cutaways, greetings, hand shake, EU Flag 

Cutaways in Hemicycle, Jos&eacute; luis ZAPATERO, Jerzy BUZEK, Jos&eacute; Manuel BARROSO

SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Jose Luis ZAPATERO, Spanish Prime Minister, President in Office of the European Council, "In the face of the tragedy if Ha&iuml;ti, we should think about nothing but hte suffering people of that Island, I am confident that you would do all you can in this House to allow us to start rebuilding Ha&iuml;ti. The citizens of Europe dmeand that and our own feelings and ambitions demand that too."

SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Jose Luis ZAPATERO, Spanish Prime Minister, President in Office of the European Council, "We've been faithful to Europe in those 25 years, we've been committed to the EU, and there is no more powerful way of being faithful of being committed to Europe then sharing that commitment and pulling forward new ideas and that's what we want to do on these 6 months."

SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Jose Luis ZAPATERO, Spanish Prime Minister, President in Office of the European Council, The EU needs to bet on itself in economic terms. I can say that the EU needs to move forward in the economic union and in cooperation."

SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Jose Luis ZAPATERO, Spanish Prime Minister, President in Office of the European Council, "We need to reduce our energy dependence , if don't reduce it we won't be able to have economic growth"

SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Jose Luis ZAPATERO, Spanish Prime Minister, President in Office of the European Council, "We need to come up with an energy common market, a market which will strengthen the whomle EU and the Union's economy; there are two key elements here , interconnection of grids. The expectations awakened in 2002 haven't been met and a common regulatory framework."

SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Jose Luis ZAPATERO, Spanish Prime Minister, President in Office of the European Council, "Europe will not take over any kind of competitive leadership unless it tackles energy grid intercoonection decisively."

SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Jose Luis ZAPATERO, Spanish Prime Minister, President in Office of the European Council, (on the automotive sector)"If we move forward in an integrated way in this particular area,as Europeans, in a joint vision as part of a common strategy for an electric car we will be contibuting once again to reducing our energy dependency, we will be contributing to the battle against climate change as well as contributing to technological development."

SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Jose Luis ZAPATERO, Spanish Prime Minister, President in Office of the European Council, "4th key element in this economic renewal which we think the Eu needs is Research and education for Research particularly, University level."

SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Jose Luis ZAPATERO, Spanish Prime Minister, President in Office of the European Council, "We need more integration, more economic policy, more shared design, more Europe, not building up more barriers, but removing barriers, not dividing but bringing together, having a vision of the EU that is centred in competitiveness, integration, and inovation."

SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Jose Luis ZAPATERO, Spanish Prime Minister, President in Office of the European Council,  "there is the popular legislative initiative which is important to this House, secondly as a priority in this period working with the Commission we want to move forward, in the most important right that Europe can confirm to tis citizens, equality between men and women."

SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Jose Luis ZAPATERO, Spanish Prime Minister, President in Office of the European Council,(on violence against women)," Firm in stamping out gender based violence, ill treatment of women which is completly unacceptable in an advanced society , such as the EU, (applause), that's why we are proposing that we set up new protection systems at legal level to a European protection order through extending protection as much as we can to remove this scurge."