**It is high time Spain imposed itself as a leading EU country instead of staying “at the periphery,” Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told the national employers association on Friday (15 September), as the Spanish EU Council presidency published a paper on the bloc’s ‘Open Strategic Autonomy’.**
Fed up with its “peripheral” position in EU debates, Sánchez announced Madrid was ready to take centre stage and become a leading member state, joining the likes of France, Germany or Italy.
“For too many decades we have been satisfied as a peripheral country, a secondary actor in the negotiations in Brussels, following the positions set by other larger or more influential member states,” Sánchez said during the presentation of the paper to the association.
“We must put an end to this dynamic and we must exercise leadership in Europe from the South, a leadership that is undoubtedly inclusive, that listens to and respects the positions of the 27 member states.”
A Spanish official told Euractiv on condition of anonymity the general mood was that of “enough with being a young member state”.
“We were learning, we were adapting [and] following the leadership of larger member states. We now feel Spain has the maturity […] to have a more leading role in the future of the EU”.
**“Inclusive” leadership**
To this effect, the Spanish presidency published a non-paper titled ‘ResilientEU2030’, outlining what the bloc’s priorities should be for the next seven years and effectively staking its claim to shape policy in the years ahead.
The document, prepared in partnership with 80 different public bodies from all member states, sets out a “vision” for future EU policymaking “to guarantee the economic resilience and global leadership of the European Union in this decade”, Sánchez said.
This kind of blue-sky thinking, the Spanish official argued, is precisely what this new, “inclusive”, leadership is all about: “We created this project in which the 27 member states have been active […]. This is a kind of leadership that we feel we have to play”.
Spain should no longer be treated as “unequal,” he added, in a thinly veiled criticism of historically bigger and louder member states, but should instead be “a leader among equals”.
Such a move has apparently been positively received by other EU capitals.
“I can tell you that many member states were very happy with that, they were explicitly letting us know that they were very, very happy with Spain having this role in which we want to be a leader, but at the same time a very inclusive one, in which even the smaller member states are here and we consider them equally important,” the official added.
Beyond leadership signalling, however, the 81-page non-paper lacks concrete policy proposals.
The last time that happened the Hapsburgs caused a 14 year long global war and Spain lost Gibraltar
The leading role is not a think that you ask for. The leading role depends on the leverage of the country. I would like to propose to my president Sanchez to make Spain a competitive country with a healthy economy.
“Spain is now central Europe” says Spain’s CEO
To be honest, he isn’t wrong.
Spain is a pretty large and economically powerful country, the fact they mostly sit on the sidelines is odd.
Sánchez: let’s all spend twice as we earn and then have the ECB print the difference. Nothing can go wrong as if you say otherwise you are a fascist!
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**It is high time Spain imposed itself as a leading EU country instead of staying “at the periphery,” Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told the national employers association on Friday (15 September), as the Spanish EU Council presidency published a paper on the bloc’s ‘Open Strategic Autonomy’.**
Fed up with its “peripheral” position in EU debates, Sánchez announced Madrid was ready to take centre stage and become a leading member state, joining the likes of France, Germany or Italy.
“For too many decades we have been satisfied as a peripheral country, a secondary actor in the negotiations in Brussels, following the positions set by other larger or more influential member states,” Sánchez said during the presentation of the paper to the association.
“We must put an end to this dynamic and we must exercise leadership in Europe from the South, a leadership that is undoubtedly inclusive, that listens to and respects the positions of the 27 member states.”
A Spanish official told Euractiv on condition of anonymity the general mood was that of “enough with being a young member state”.
“We were learning, we were adapting [and] following the leadership of larger member states. We now feel Spain has the maturity […] to have a more leading role in the future of the EU”.
**“Inclusive” leadership**
To this effect, the Spanish presidency published a non-paper titled ‘ResilientEU2030’, outlining what the bloc’s priorities should be for the next seven years and effectively staking its claim to shape policy in the years ahead.
The document, prepared in partnership with 80 different public bodies from all member states, sets out a “vision” for future EU policymaking “to guarantee the economic resilience and global leadership of the European Union in this decade”, Sánchez said.
This kind of blue-sky thinking, the Spanish official argued, is precisely what this new, “inclusive”, leadership is all about: “We created this project in which the 27 member states have been active […]. This is a kind of leadership that we feel we have to play”.
Spain should no longer be treated as “unequal,” he added, in a thinly veiled criticism of historically bigger and louder member states, but should instead be “a leader among equals”.
Such a move has apparently been positively received by other EU capitals.
“I can tell you that many member states were very happy with that, they were explicitly letting us know that they were very, very happy with Spain having this role in which we want to be a leader, but at the same time a very inclusive one, in which even the smaller member states are here and we consider them equally important,” the official added.
Beyond leadership signalling, however, the 81-page non-paper lacks concrete policy proposals.
The last time that happened the Hapsburgs caused a 14 year long global war and Spain lost Gibraltar
The leading role is not a think that you ask for. The leading role depends on the leverage of the country. I would like to propose to my president Sanchez to make Spain a competitive country with a healthy economy.
“Spain is now central Europe” says Spain’s CEO
To be honest, he isn’t wrong.
Spain is a pretty large and economically powerful country, the fact they mostly sit on the sidelines is odd.
Sánchez: let’s all spend twice as we earn and then have the ECB print the difference. Nothing can go wrong as if you say otherwise you are a fascist!