The Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union started at one of one of the most challenging minutes in the administration of the pandemic. Job was extremely constricted. The absence of usual inoculation policies and also the electronic COVID certification remain to bring in a great deal of objection.
Nonetheless, solid Portuguese stress to authorize the healing and also strength strategy is viewed as among the excellent success of this Presidency. The Head Of State of Portugal, António Costa, provides us his understanding on exactly how his Presidency of the Council of the EU went, exactly how the worldwide health and wellness dilemma was taken care of, the stressful connections in between particular EU participants and also a lot more.
To enjoy the complete meeting with Portuguese Head of state, António Costa, click the media gamer over.
The Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union finishes with a European top and also some extremely stressful minutes. Allow” s go over Hungary’s questionable anti-LGBTQI civil liberties legislation. Exactly how was your conference with Viktor Orban? Existed no more any kind of requirement to preserve nonpartisanship?
António Costa, Head Of State of Portugal:
” Thanks for that concern. Undoubtedly, Head of states and also Presidencies need to attempt to act in an objective method concerns to functioning approaches and also when they talk openly. However clearly, when we have conferences we need to talk with total frankness and also clearness. I assume that this discussion with Viktor Orban was extremely essential since it was extremely straight, extremely open. All the participant mentions revealed themselves extremely plainly in protection of the worths of the European Union and also underscored that the European Union is over all a neighborhood of worths, greater than a personalizeds union, greater than an inner market, greater than a solitary money. It is over all a neighborhood of worths and also as a result these worths need to go to the centre of our activity”.
Can you inform us what you claimed to Viktor Orban?
António Costa, Head Of State of Portugal:
” Council conferences are private. I’m not mosting likely to inform you what I claimed. I will certainly claim that clearly, the treaties are extremely clear. Just those that intend to become part of the Union remain in the Union. Those that remain in the Union remain in it since they share those worths and also those worths can not be conditioned, they need to be appreciated. That is why Write-up 7 exists, to make sure conformity with the Treaties.
There are 2 instances that worry Write-up 7, one versus Poland and also the various other versus Hungary. The Portuguese Presidency has actually made progression. 2 weeks back, hearings were hung on these instances and also they are still continuous.
The European Compensation has actually currently alerted Hungary that it is needed to supply descriptions and also, thinking about the descriptions offered, the European Compensation will certainly examine whether to open up process for infraction of Write-up 7″.
Does Hungary still have an area in the European Union these days?
António Costa, Head Of State of Portugal:
” It is our dream that all the 27 participant states stay component of the European Union. However every person is complimentary to select their very own course. That is something that is unworthy hiding. Thankfully, we currently have the Seminar on the Future of Europe to ensure that this discussion can occur in an honest way. Today the Participant States do not all share the very same worths or have the very same vision of the Union as they did when the Lisbon Treaty was authorized.
Bulks have actually altered, political characteristics have actually altered, so there are States that have a various setting. I assume that the Seminar on the Future of Europe is likewise a great time for us to check. The Treaty of Lisbon is versatile sufficient to enable a little every little thing: those that intend to go much faster can utilize the Passerelle Conditions that enable us to alter to a bulk ballot on particular topics, as an example. Those that intend to relocate at a slower speed can boost participation, so there suffices adaptability to make sure that we are not constantly torn in between the danger of paralysis and also the danger of a failure. If there is a contract amongst everyone, fantastic. If this is not feasible, we can not abstain and also be fixed or run the risk of the entire system falling down. So there are numerous courses that can be taken”.
We have actually currently seen the UK leave the European Union, however we have actually never ever seen a nation eliminated from the European Union.
António Costa, Head Of State of Portugal:
” It is not stated. What is stated under Write-up 7 is the suspension of the workout of ballot civil liberties as the optimum assent appropriate to a nation”.
An additional problem that caused no contract at this European Top problems diplomacy: the French and also German proposition for a top with Russian Head of state Vladimir Putin. This proposition was denied. Exists say goodbye to space to work out with Vladimir Putin which’s why there will not be a top?
António Costa, Head Of State of Portugal:
” There were numerous reasons that that choice was gotten to. When it concerns the partnership with Russia, there is a typical setting for all participant states. A proposition of this dimension, which comes with fairly brief notification, without the appropriate prep work, without the appropriate structure, comes to be extremely challenging to pass.
I assume every person is aware that Russia is our greatest neighbor. We need to desire a close, pleasant, favorable, useful partnership with Russia. For that to take place, it is crucial that Russia appreciates the essential concepts of worldwide legislation and also it need to have a reasonable partnership with the European Union and also each of its Participants. To ensure that is the total vision that we have. There is a need to see a brand-new structure for connections with Russia. For that to take place, it needs to be appropriately prepared. There are 27 people. We do not all have the very same background with Russia. We do not all have the very same geographical range from Moscow and also this need to be thought about when choosing on this issue”.
An additional of the problems where agreement has actually been challenging within the European Union is the movement deal that existed and also recommended in 2020, however it has actually still not been authorized. That was just one of the top priorities of the Portuguese Presidency.
António Costa, Head Of State of Portugal:
” The deal is damaged down right into various tools. There are 2 in which we have actually taken essential actions. One extremely essential action is the instruction on heaven card which has actually produced lawful migration networks that are definitely essential. An additional, which we are ending today, is the settlement with the European Parliament to establish the European Asylum Company, which is an essential component of the modification of the asylum system in the European Union”.
There is currently broach a brand-new opportunity of offering even more cash to Turkey, 3 billion euros in addition to the 6 billion that was currently provided to them over the last 6 years, to stem the wave of movement. There are non-governmental organisations, like Amnesty International, that implicate the European Union of being imprisoned to nations like Turkey and also Morocco, as an example, particularly after the current goings-on in Ceuta. They’re implicated of offering cash however falling short to successfully quit the resource of the trouble.
António Costa, Head Of State of Portugal:
” These are various scenarios. The proposition currently being talked about in the Council is not concerning Turkey, however concerning the uniformity that the European Union must have with outdoors nations which are presently birthing an exceptionally hefty concern in getting evacuees, much larger than the European Union. Nations like Jordan, as an example, or nations like Egypt, which can and also must be receivers of assistance from the European Union which was the discussion. There was no discuss Turkey in this issue”.
However if we remain to provide cash to Turkey, do not you assume that we will come under the circumstance of being imprisoned by 3rd parties?
António Costa, Head Of State of Portugal:
” One point is definitely clear: no nation can utilize evacuees as a kind of stress on adjoining nations. Europe can not disregard that it itself is an element of destination. Evacuees have numerous beginnings and also for the entire movement problem to be dealt with, we need to act in the native lands, in the transportation nations, on our boundary and also on the assimilation ability of those getting in Europe. We need to likewise compare migration and also evacuee scenarios. This suggests an international technique to the movement method and also one solitary procedure can not have a result on something. In addition, we need to recognize that movement has actually existed considering that the start of the human race and also as lengthy as the human race exists movement will certainly remain to exist. It is an all-natural procedure of life and also as a result it is a sensation that needs to be controlled like all various other human sensations”.
António Costa, Head Of State of Portugal:
Currently we pertain to the problem that has actually controlled the information over the in 2014 and also a fifty percent. You began the Portuguese Presidency with an extremely challenging circumstance in Portugal in regard to the pandemic. There were enhancements and also currently we are back to a a lot more challenging circumstance. Could the absence of consistent policies on the activity of individuals throughout Europe make complex the fight versus COVID and also the administration of a feasible 4th wave?
António Costa, Head Of State of Portugal:
” The policies and also standards for harmonization are taken care of by suggestions. There was a collection of policies authorized in October, and also on the 14th of June, a brand-new suggestion for the harmonization of standards entered pressure and also these standards handle the blood circulation of individuals. I do not think that blood circulation within Europe has actually been the primary contamination aspect. Contamination exists whenever 2 individuals fulfill. The even more individuals fulfill, the higher the danger of contamination, whether they are from outdoors or inside Europe.
Consequently, the harmonisation standards exist. What is essential is that we accelerate the inoculation procedure. What we can see is that this brand-new delta variation has a massive ability for transmission, however it has actually not defeated the immunisation supplied by injections. On the various other hand, with a huge component of one of the most at risk populace currently secured, there has actually been a result on both death and also the extent of the illness. They are a lot less than in various other waves. This does not imply that we must be obsequious. We need to make an initiative to recognize variations and also we need to all remain to preserve great techniques to safeguard each various other”.
Exactly how did you take German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s objection that Portugal has opened its doors to the British?
António Costa, Head Of State of Portugal:
” We did closed our doors to the British, we adhered to European suggestions. Taking into consideration the degree of infection in the UK, in order to go into Portugal, the British need to take an obligatory examination to go into. No British individual has actually gotten in Portugal without providing an adverse examination”.
Will these policies remain in location since Madeira has signed up with the UK’s “eco-friendly checklist”?
António Costa, Head Of State of Portugal:
” We do not have country-by-country policies. We have actually evaluated policies which put on any kind of nation relying on the circumstance it remains in. If Belgium is over a specific degree, those policies use, if it is below, various other policies use. The policies coincide for Belgium, for the UK, for France, for Spain, for any kind of nation”.
A great deal of individuals associate the worsening of the circumstance to numerous occasions, showing off celebrations, the Champions Organization last …
António Costa, Head Of State of Portugal:
” However this has actually been revealed to not hold true. The last of the Champions Organization occurred in Porto and also two-thirds of the boost if we are seeing currently is focused specifically in the Lisbon area. It has absolutely nothing to do with the Champions Organization. Also in regard to visitors, it is challenging for this to take place. The locations for British visitors are generally the island of Madeira, where the development is very little, and also the Algarve. So, two-thirds of the trouble is focused in the Lisbon area, certainly it has absolutely nothing to do with visitors. There can be various other aspects. We need to likewise make clear that the development of the pandemic at this phase has absolutely nothing to do with what occurred in previous phases, specifically from a health and wellness viewpoint, specifically in relation to the stress on the National Health And Wellness Solution and also on the death price”.
Allowed’s talk currently concerning the Recuperation and also Strength Strategy. The Head of state of the European Compensation has actually gotten on a European excursion to provide fortunately of the authorization of numerous strategies. Portugal must get greater than 16 billion euros, Spain virtually 80 billion, Greece 30 billion. Italy is the document owner with 200 billion. Does the reality that you hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union make you a lot more moderate when it concerns providing the strategy? Does Portugal require much less cash than various other nations?
António Costa, Head Of State of Portugal:
” The circulation of funds was taken care of under the German Presidency. It was taken care of last July when we authorized this tool and also it was connected to the influence of the pandemic on the development projections of the numerous economic situations. At that phase, we were collaborating with projections, so it was quickly expected that in 2022 there would certainly be a testimonial, an upgrade to the standards and also circulation. So each nation was alloted a quantity thinking about that circulation version, thinking about the populace as well as likewise the influence of the dilemma. As you recognize, in the very first wave, Italy and also Spain were both worst-hit nations and also as a result they were the ones that had a greater settlement from the Recuperation and also Strength Fund”.
This circulation of cash right into participant states is virtually as essential as the European funds that entered into several of them at the time of inauguration. There have actually been numerous mistakes, a great deal of waste, that has actually created a getting worse dilemma in several European nations. Exists currently a system to regulate exactly how the cash from this Recuperation and also Strength Strategy is mosting likely to be invested to stay clear of errors in the future?
António Costa, Head Of State of Portugal:
” First off, it must be kept in mind that the record the European Court of Auditors made in 2019 on the record of European funds reveals that fraudulence with European funds is recurring. It stands for 0.75% of all funds. So there is no worry with the funds, there are numerous control devices that have actually worked. This moment there is a a lot more requiring control device, considering that all strategies are made on a legal basis, with targets, turning points and also schedules. The funds are provided when these objectives are accomplished and also the schedule is satisfied. It’s all extremely rigorous. In these 6 months of our Presidency, first of all, all the Participant States validated the choice that permitted the European Compensation to release the financial debt. Second of all, the European Compensation provided the financial debt under far better problems, with reduced economic prices than if it had actually been provided by numerous states. Third, 24 participant states have actually currently provided their Recuperation and also Strength Strategies. Twelve currently have the thumbs-up from the European Compensation. On the 13th of July, at the very first ECOFIN (FINANCIAL AND ALSO FINANCE COUNCIL) of the Slovenian Presidency, these 12 Recuperation and also Strength Strategies must be authorized. This will certainly be essential for Europe, this time around to satisfy its demands, to provide a durable and also joint action to this recession, not to duplicate the errors it made ten years back, to react in such a way that does not cause austerity, however to change and also financial investment”.
What was one of the most challenging minute of this 6 month Portuguese Presidency?
António Costa, Head Of State of Portugal:
” I am not yet adequately distanced to be able to address that. These were extremely requiring times from the viewpoint of combating the pandemic, particularly to implemented all the Recuperation and also Strength Strategies. We handled to authorize all the regulations on Neighborhood funds, the following multi-annual economic structure, the last plan was authorized today, the reform of the CAP, integrating for the very first time the social measurement and also reinforcing the eco-friendly measurement of the Common Agricultural Plan. We handled to authorize the leisure of financial policies and also the policies on State help to allow a reliable action to this dilemma. One of the most striking minute for the future is that we have actually taken care of to relocate from the basic academic concepts of the European column of social civil liberties to the activity strategy of the European column of social civil liberties. There is currently a schedule and also concrete activities prepared to transform this social measurement of Europe right into a fact and also make Europe really a European Union that shields, boosts and also establishes its social version. All this is vital to sustaining the eco-friendly and also electronic shifts. An additional vital landmark was the authorization of the brand-new environment legislation. For the very first time, we have a continent that has a joint dedication on carbon nonpartisanship for 2050. So I assume that this Portuguese Presidency leaves a collection of extremely considerable marks. We must be honored since we have actually satisfied the purpose that we had actually established ourselves. It is time to represent a reasonable, eco-friendly and also electronic healing”.
Slovenia takes control of the presidency of the European Union on the 1st of July. What suggestions do you have for the Slovenian federal government for the following 6 months?
António Costa, Head Of State of Portugal:
” I do not provide suggestions. I simply offered my associate, Janez Janša, Head Of State of Slovenia, a compass, a reproduction of the compasses made use of by Portuguese navigators. A navigational tool is constantly helpful. Incidentally, the Slovenian Head Of State will hold his 2nd Presidency, the very first remained in 2008, he has experience, he will certainly have an excellent presidency”.
