Spanish premier Zapatero stresses EU a greater priority than US
Tuesday, May 11, 2004 1:14:15 PM
MADRID (AFX) - Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said that the European Union is a greater priority for his government than the US because of the contribution of EU members to the development of modern, democratic Spain
"First comes Europe, then our historic ties with Latin America and the Mediterranean, and after that come trans-Atlantic relations," he said in an interview with Radio Cope, articulating an opposite set of priorities to those of his conservative predecessor, Jose Maria Aznar
Zapatero, leader of the Socialist Party, recalled that EU members, "in particular France and Germany, played a decisive role in helping our transition to democracy" after the death in 1975 of the military dictator Francisco Franco, who ruled Spain since the end of the civil war in 1939
The EU "played an essential part in our development, our progress and our well-being," Zapatero said. "In recent years, it has added one percent to our gross domestic product, enabling us to build roads, dams and schools and to train our workforce," he added
"Irrespective of who is in power in Paris, Berlin or other European capitals, it is natural for us to have the best possible relations with those countries with which we have built economic and monetary union, share a single currency and are going to build a common defence system", Zapatero said
However, he told the radio interviewer that his radical shift in policy is "perfectly compatible with having good relations with the United States." He noted that Spain is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and acknowledged the importance of its trans-Atlantic ties
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