During the conversation, the President and the Spanish Prime Minister agreed to reach a swift agreement in the Council negotiations so that the member states could use the EU support instruments immediately thus ensuring a faster economic recovery. The two leaders said they were in favor of early preparation for unforeseen crises, as well as for an increased focus on promotion of green economy, digitization, science and innovation.
“Expectations and positions of Lithuania and Spain coincide on many issues: we are united in our efforts to bring the EU support mechanisms for economic recovery of the member states in line with the scale of the crisis. We also think that the multiannual financial framework should be more ambitious, and more funding should be allocated to cohesion policy and agriculture”, the President said.
The President also said that direct payments to EU farmers had to be harmonized ensuring a level playing field in the EU internal market.
The President expressed hope that the discussions on completion of the EU banking union, the reform of the European Stability Mechanism, the budgetary instrument for competitiveness and convergence in the euro area would resume as he referred to the issues of deepening the Economic and Monetary Union. “I understand that as the pandemic broke out everyone focused on measures to mitigate the effects of the crisis and revive the economy, but I hope that we will return to the agenda of deepening the Economic and Monetary Union soon”, the President said.
The President also noted that following the fiscal discipline rules and integrity of the single market were highly important for the sustainable long-term growth.
The President took the opportunity to express personal support to the Spanish leaders and people of the country in their efforts to prevent a resurgence of the pandemic and to recover from the social and economic crisis caused by the pandemic.
