EU presidency: Spain’s last day

As Spainish Prime Minister Josè Luis Zapatero passes the EU presidency over to Belgium, discordant voices assessing his endeavors over the past six months are emerging. There are those, like the Prime Minister, who declare themselves “satisfied” with the acheivements; others, like opposition leader Mariano Rajoy, who say that the “protagonism we dreamed of for Spain happened, but not for the reasons we had hoped”. But when it comes to civil society the answer is one and the same: the Spanish presidency was an important but wasted opportunity to push forward themes that should have been dear to Zapatero’s socialist government, like fighting poverty, promoting social inclusion and supporting aid for development. The overwhelming feeling is that the economic crisis, both at home and in Europe, overshadowed a mandate that was from the start far too ambitious for a country, that in the words of political commentator Miguel Adrover is but a “mediocre EU member state”.

One of the Spanish third sector’s most influencial voices and Intermòn Oxfam’s long standing director, Ariane Arpa, says she is “disappointed” by a presidency which “started with a lot of energy, many good ideas on development and poverty” but that lost itself, mainly because of the changes made to European institutions as prescribed by the Lisbon Treaty and Spain’s internal economic crisis. Both factors, says Arpa, “pushed the Spanish presidency into the background and meant it didn’t have the same opportunities that past presidencies had”.

Other NGOs, like Ecologistas en Acciòn, are less measured in their assessment: during its presidency, Spain was more interested in overseeing business transactions, with the excuse of promoting “sustainable development” than anything else. What is worse, says the environmental NGO, negotiations were encouraged between the EU and politicians with questionable reputations, like Robert Mugabe.

The one glimmer of hope that Zapatero may be remembered for the right reasons comes right at the end of his mandate. On June 17 the European Council approved Europe’s 2020 strategy that includes five quantifiable social and environmental targets. The employment rate of 20-64 year olds should increase by 75%; investment into research and development should also increase and amount to at least 3% of the GDP; 20% targets have been set for reducing greenhouse gasses, increasing energetic efficiency and renewable energy supply; on the educational front, 10% fewer school drop-outs are hoped for and an increase in the number of university graduates. Perhaps the most ambitious target, however, is that of lifting 20 million Europeans out of poverty.

Unfortunately, even these targets do not entirely meet Spanish civil society’s expectations. “We asked European institutions to commit reducing poverty in Europe by 50%, something that the 2000-2010 Lisbon Strategy had already set out to do but failed to achieve”, explains Jaume Clupè, president of the Spanish Federation of Child Care and Education Organisations, Fedaia. Should civil society expect anything more from the coming Belgian presidency? “Not really” answers Clupè, who doubts the reach EU policies have when it comes to national civil society agendas. “The truth is that Europe is a far away place. In Spain the media and general public are far too concerned on internal issues to think about Europe and there is not a widespread belief that European policy or concerns have much of an impact on everyday life”.