Welcome to the Official page of the Presidency of the Portuguese Republic

Honourable Speaker,
Honourable Members of Parliament and Senators,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

In my name and in that of the people of Portugal, I wish to thank you, Mr. Speaker, for Your Excellency’s very kind words. And allow me, through you, to show my gratitude to this illustrious House for the invitation which I was very honoured to receive. In this gesture I behold, more than a personal distinction, an expression of the unique relationship that unites us, Portuguese and Spaniards.

When greeting this House, I am saluting Spain. The Spain of historical grandeur, vibrant present and promissory future. The plural and diverse Spain, open and tolerant. That Spain which, faced by adversity, is not vanquished by discouragement or cowered by blackmail, and offers us the example of a people who believe that the route must be followed.

I do this in the name of Portugal, of the nearly nine hundred years which place my Country as one of the oldest nations of our Continent. A Nation which with yours divided worlds, shared sovereigns, made war and celebrated peace; which with yours assumes, today, a partnership in Europe that both of us helped to build to project a better future.

Excellencies

Twenty years ago it would be difficult for an outside observer to believe that the numbers picturing the relations between Portugal and Spain were in respect of two neighbouring countries. The route we have travelled since then is really astonishing. And we have all gained from it.

We owe this great change to the consolidation of democracy and to the later adhesion of the two countries to the European Union. Your Excellency, Mr. Speaker, deeply cognizant in European matters, negotiator of the Spanish adhesion and, later, a Member of the European Commission – to which you presided at a particularly sensitive time – was a privileged observer of what I am now describing.

Already in 1986, I had the honour to be one of the originators of the Portuguese-Spanish Summits, with the then President of the Government of Spain, my friend Felipe Gonzalez. A Spain that, in 1980, held the fifth position among Portugal’s trade partners, climbed to third place in 1988, and is now, since 1994, in first place.

And Portugal is today the fourth largest investor, the third largest customer and the eighth larges supplier of Spain. Spain exports to Portugal more than to all of Asia, all of Latin America, all of North America, or even to all the new members of the European Union. The number of Spanish enterprises, in Portugal, and of Portuguese enterprises, in Spain, grew exponentially and, with this development, many important partnerships of international size made their appearance.

But the progress of our relations was not limited to trade or investment numbers. Many other sectors were included, from administrative and cross border cooperation to environment, science and technological research, and to culture, education and tourism.

In short, we are better, much better acquainted with each other. And we work together more, much more, than in the past.

This evolution had a very relevant implication. Partners in the European Union, Portugal and Spain became aware, more than ever, of all that brings them together, be it for geographical reasons, be it for ambitions in development, and decided that agreement on posturing was increasingly important. I must underline that this agreement, within the framework of the community, also contributed to the resolution of difficult bilateral issues. Institutional and personal relationships were tightened and new affinities were created that resulted in a new and stable climate of confidence and mutual recognition.

Honourable Speaker
Excellencies

It is obvious that not all is yet done in the relationships between our two countries. Daily realities show us that obstacles still persist and, at times, even lack of understanding. Even in economic relations, where much was achieved, there exist, at times, here and there, complaints of differentiated treatments or of protectionist measures. The conclusion reached is simple: through dialogue and joint work, we must identify and overcome the difficulties and seek to obtain the best result from the enormous potential of opportunities contained in the Portuguese-Spanish relations.

Honourable Speaker
Excellencies

It is usual to underline the advantages received by Portugal and Spain from the European integration process. They are obvious. But it is not less true that the European Union also gained much with the adhesion of our two countries.

Our knowledge and close relations with Latin America, with Africa, with the countries bordering the Mediterranean and even with Asia were instrumental for the external projection of the European Union. The success of our adhesion was an example for the later enlargements and consolidated the image of the Union as a space of economic and social progress.

Portugal and Spain accomplished the European single market, were included in the Economic and Monetary Union from its initial stages and were in the Schengen front line for the free circulation of people.

Our exertion in the integration procedure was the origin of initiatives such as the Lisbon Strategy, which are now landmarks for the future development of the Union.

The Union faces new difficulties, today, some linked, paradoxically, to the management of its success. The areas of responsibility increased, the number of Member States increased, and the expectations of the citizens are ever greater. More than ever, the active endeavours of all the Member States are essential. Portugal and Spain, I am certain, will know the answer to the new challenges.

Answer, by proposing, supporting and promoting measures responding to the anxieties of the citizens. Our citizens do not ask us for less Europe. They ask for more and better Europe. There must be no illusions: we will not be able to convince the Europeans of the advantages of our institutional mechanisms, if we do not show that these serve a purpose that overtakes each one’s accounting for power. The Union must be considered as an added value in the fight for greater security, better living conditions and more economic and social cohesion.

I am certain that both Portugal and Spain will also know how to deny the fear of globalization, which would result in paralysing the capacity for initiative. As Ortega y Gasset said, with surprising actuality, “that it will be now be seen if the Europeans are also sons of Lot and persist in making history with their head turned back”, adding, in another context, that “it is necessary that my me finds a radically different world from his, and that it leaves him for that other world”

Answer, I repeat, by also contributing for the opening of Europe to the world, that it asserts itself in the world, in an ever fuller agreement. There must be no illusions that the option “each one for himself” – whoever is that himself – can only lead Europe to a lesser destiny, the destiny of irrelevance.

And it is opportune to underline that the global challenge must not allow us to forget our collective responsibility towards all those that may become excluded from the process of economic progress. There is no real progress without justice and equity.

I am convinced that both Portugal and Spain will always be at the front to fight for the values which must anchor the deepening of European integration: democracy, respect for individual rights, diversity, equity, subsidiarity and proportionality. To speak of equity is to speak of social cohesion. But this is not the only point. It must be remembered that the control of illegal immigration is not just a Spanish problem; it is a European problem, which demands a European answer.

Portugal will assume, in less than a year and for the third time, the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. I trust that the organization will do all in its power to ensure that the example of the success of the two first presidencies will be repeated. We of course count on Spain’s support.

Honourable President
Excellencies

All that I have said here has as implicit the irreplaceable role of the national Parliaments.

We all recognize the urgent need for the European Union to be nearer to its citizens. As their representatives, national Parliaments fulfil an active and substantial role in deepening this relationship.

This was foreseen in the constitutional treaty, although not as ambitiously as some would have wished. With or without Treaty, however, the extraordinary contribution that the Parliaments are able to provide for the project of European integration must be exploited. Portugal has recently approved legislation to that effect and I sincerely hope that it may help us to guarantee a greater degree of democracy in discussions over European issues.

I am accompanied, in this my first State Visit to Spain, by a delegation of representatives of the Portuguese Parliament. A sign of the institutional cooperation that I have backed since the very beginning, the presence of this delegation is also an opportunity for the strengthening of the bilateral parliamentary cooperation which has been developing in the past few decades.

Honourable President
Excellencies

Ass I stated yesterday, at the dinner that His Majesty the King was so kind to offer us, nothing that happens today in Portugal is irrelevant for Spain, just as nothing that happens today is irrelevant for Portugal. Especially in the case of this House which had the courtesy to receive me today and the activity of which I follow with great interest.

I am very pleased that the relations between Portugal and Spain are these days stamped by confidence, equity, respect and equality, independently from the political leanings of the respective Governments.

Maintaining such values will surely allow us to set out new and more ambitious partnerships, permitting an improved defence of our specific interests and to benefit from the realities of today’s world. I am certain that we shall all know how to avail ourselves of the opportunities.

Thank you very much