Mr President, although I greatly admire Mr de Miguel, I am sorry that he is replacing Mr Aznar here today. I am sorry because it is Mr Aznar who has undoubtedly been the architect of the first variable-geometry Presidency of the European Union. I have looked through my notes and read the initial speeches of the Presidency and I have been surprised at the tenuous link between his statement of priorities and the activities of the European Union in this six-month term. I do not know whether this is a subtle strategy to achieve the unstated objective of reaching a common position on legal and illegal immigration or whether it is an objective devised to cover up other gaps and camouflage itself in the wave of xenophobia sweeping Europe. The Seville conclusions should not focus solely on policing and crime-reduction, but should include the beneficial effects of immigration. I hope that immigration policies that respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, and that ensure equal treatment for immigrants, will be promoted in Seville. Another problem is that the inclusion of immigration has disguised the disappearance of important issues such as enlargement. In January Mr Aznar applied the motto 'More Europe' to enlargement. It is now impossible to hide a certain amount of disappointment that has been felt, at least to date. The miserly proposal by the Commission has been rejected by most countries. Furthermore, the block by four States in the General Affairs Council last Monday highlights the extent of the problem. A large number of Member States want a bigger market but not more Europe. The reasons for this are budgetary and the objective is to dismantle the limited common policies. Yes, Mr de Miguel, 'More Europe', a bigger Europe, but not a hollow, empty Europe. Similarly, in January, Mr Aznar literally demonstrated his intention to create an area of greater economic prosperity to safeguard the European social model, but the Barcelona Council and the policies his government intends to apply in Spain show evidence to the contrary. Sadly, the fears we had prior to the Barcelona Council can now be confirmed. The Presidency has led a vision of Europe that avoids including the idea of public service in European integration, which, in its own interests, confuses privatisation and deregulation processes with liberalisation measures, that advocates labour policies which, in practice, establish regressive distribution of the social product, threaten stability in employment and contribute to pockets of exclusion and underemployment and sanction the zero deficit at the cost of perpetuating social deficit. Between Barcelona and Seville, the Spanish Government has been informed that a general strike has been called. There is no alternative, as its labour reform, which eliminates protection against unemployment and reduces redundancy pay, is another sign of what the Spanish Presidency means by making the labour market more flexible. This is a model which, far from promoting social participation and cooperation for the greater good, places further pressure on the least protected sectors, blames the victims of the model itself and increases the possibilities of social exclusion and marginalisation. In the face of economic uncertainty in the labour market, the economic policies of the Member States need to be discussed and coordinated in order to boost the economy, make the margins for budgetary action more flexible and to promote cohesion and the European social model. The European Union may be an essential marker for world economic growth, but in order to achieve this, and for an upturn to become reality, the economic policy must change course. The euro, the internal market, common policies and an increased Community budget must contribute to establishing an effective European economic government that is capable of encouraging economic growth and sustainable development, improving income distribution and achieving full employment. We cannot go around singing the praises of 'More Europe' whilst we are seeing a deterioration in social policies or fewer European policies. Mr de Miguel, we do need more Europe, but, most of all, we also need a better Europe.

Political group: GUE-NGL