The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, raised this Sunday the need to take advantage of the Spanish presidency of the Council of the EU during the second half of 2023 to raise community taxation against large fortunes and multinationals, so that from there he can build a "more just social Europe".
Sánchez made these statements during a brief appearance at the Palacio de la Moncloa after meeting with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, on the occasion of the rotating Spanish semester at the head of the EU that began on Saturday, July 1.
In his speech, the Chief Executive listed four of the fundamental objectives that he has set for the Spanish Presidency of the EU, with the focus on promoting this "adequate review of fiscal frameworks" to overcome the austerity criteria that prevailed in the economic crisis of 2008 and to tax the taxes of "great fortunes and multinationals".
Sánchez in turn advocated "improving the files" of projects and initiatives that try to meet the needs of vulnerable groups such as children, women and people with disabilities.
In his opinion, this is the way to "continue strengthening the unity" of the EU "around common values that today are more threatened than ever" by Russia's war in Ukraine, among other circumstances.
Sánchez referred precisely to his visit yesterday to Kiev to start the Spanish semester at the head of the European Council in the capital of Ukraine, as "symbolic support" for this country but also with the announcement of "concrete measures" such as allocating 55 million euros for reconstruction due to the aftermath of the war.
"The EU will spare no effort in continuing to help Ukraine," emphasized the Spanish president in front of Charles Michel, who also stressed that "Ukraine is at the forefront of community principles" and that is why this country must be "supported" from the idea that the threat from Russia is "one of the main challenges" of the continent.
Michel thanked that Spain has been in recent months "one of the main leaders in tackling challenges" such as the war in Ukraine but also the high cost of energy, for which he thanked Sánchez for having contributed to forging "robust and powerful commitments". between member countries.
In this sense, the head of the Spanish Executive also expressed his desire to take advantage of the presidency of the Council of the EU to "attract industries" and "re-industrialize the continent", as well as "diversify trade relations abroad" so that Europe can strengthen their “strategic autonomy” and “guarantee their economic freedom”.
Finally, he pointed out that Latin America and the Caribbean countries "can and should be one of the most important allies of Europe" in this strategy and is confident that the summit that Spain is organizing in this regard for this semester will allow "extending investment ties between both parts of the planet.
