An informal meeting of ministers and state secretaries for European affairs was held as a curtain-raiser to the Spanish presidency of the European Union on January 13 and 14 in La Granja next to Madrid. Tibor Kiss, Hungary’s state secretary for European Affairs represented the Foreign Ministry at the occasion.

With the kickoff of the Spanish presidency the trio performance of Spain, Belgium and Hungary has started with the aim of implementing of the Lisbon Treaty and the trio presidency programme.

At the La Granja session, Member States evaluated the trio programme, especially Spain’s six-month plans, as well as issues connected to the application of the Lisbon Treaty.

With the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty the European Union has new institutional mechanisms and tools at its disposal which allow faster and more efficient decision-making. Thereby the EU doesn't have to occupy itself any longer with the establishment of institutional systems serving new goals but rather to concentrate on issues of outstanding importance: leading Europe out of the economic and financial crisis, strengthening the European social model and making the Union more competitive and citizen-oriented, as well as boosting the realisation and representation of its global interests.

The ministers have supported the Spanish presidency in its view that over the next few months the most important tasks are recovering from the economic and financial crisis and coordinating job creation as well as reversing unemployment.

One particularly effective tool for this will be the new Lisbon Strategy, the EU's competition strategy for the next ten years. In this respect the ministers gave a realistic evaluation of the results of the previous Lisbon Strategy launched in 2000, and urged a new programme which precisely determines the approximation of EU and national tools as well as provides better coordination and governance in order to increase efficiency. They welcomed the decision that the next European Council on the level of heads of state and government on February 11, 2010 will be devoted to these issues.

The EU policy agenda continues to highlight sustainable development and the fight against climate change for which – based upon the conclusions of the Copenhagen Summit on climate change – the Union remains committed to its goals and continues its work to convince further partners.

The Lisbon Treaty opens the road for the European Union to represent its interests in the global arena in a unified way, and this task will be seen to by the European External Action Service. The ministers for European affairs have urged the formation of the body and the swiftest possible preparation of the necessary legislative acts.

The Lisbon Treaty contains several new opportunities for the more active participation of European citizens in political decision-making and having their influence felt. The European citizens' initiative, for the first time in EU history, allows citizens and groups from various Member States - with one million signatures - to crank up the EU legal machinery and make decision-making initiatives. The European ministers agreed that these tools should be easily accessed and applied while at the same time they stressed that nothing should be used which runs against the interests of the European Union.

The solidarity clause, being a new instrument in the Lisbon Treaty, requires Member States to offer assistance and cooperation in the case of a natural disasters or other threats. The Spanish presidency intends to work out exact implementation of the solidarity clause.

The ministers will follow discussion of all of these issues at the next General Affairs Council meeting which is scheduled for January 25, 2010. This session is also to prepare the next European Council meeting

(January 14, 2010)