Spanish PM Sets Out Priorities For EU Council Presidency, But Election Looms

Wires carrying comments from Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez ahead of his nation assuming the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union for H223 on 1 July. Sanchez states that the EU should be the 'new architect' in the international order, breaking the 'US-China binary power'. Says that the Spanish presidency will seek to: further the establishment of common minimum corporation tax rates in EU members, push to conclude power market reforms, finalise efforts at banking union, and reach a pact on migration/asylum while increasing cooperation with migrant-origin nations.

• It must be noted that while Sanchez has put forward his plans for the Spanish presidency, the looming 23 July general election in Spain could see these priorities change. Opinion polls show it likely that Sanchez's centre-left Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and its leftist allies are on course to lose power to the centre-right People's Party (PP), which could be propped up in gov't by the right-wing nationalist Vox party.
• For the EU a change in gov't at the start of a rotating presidency could significantly hinder the workings of the EU Council given the lengthy preparation that goes into each six-month period and the prospect of a notable change in priorities from any new gov't. This in turn could delay the prospect of fiscal rule reform during the Spanish presidency, seen as a key aim for H223 by a number of member states.