Thank you very much for this visit, first of all, to the Royal Collections Gallery, the museum where we are today. We – and I hope you too – had the privilege to see so many masterpieces of Spain's exceptional cultural heritage. Time was way too short, so I have to come back, because there are so many precious pieces of art, culture and history. It was a delightful way to start the day. A day during which we indeed discussed the European legislative agenda for the next six months. And I also want to start with Ukraine. Spain is taking the helm of the Presidency of the Council at a decisive moment when we must double down on our support for Ukraine. It has now been almost 500 days since Russia's brutal invasion. It has been 500 days of suffering of the Ukrainian people. But also 500 days of impressive resistance of the Ukrainian people bravely fighting for their freedom. Now, it is our duty to match that endurance and that perseverance. This includes reliable and regular financial support. Therefore, we have put forward a new Facility for Ukraine, as part of our proposal for a revised EU budget – it is about EUR 50 billion until 2027, for budget and for repair. We are very much counting on the Spanish government's support for our proposals on the MFF revision by the end of the year. This funding will also support Ukraine's reform efforts. Ukraine is working hard to progress on their EU path, as you all know, and this despite the atrocious war. The Commission will present the progress report on enlargement. And the Spanish Presidency will have to steer very skilfully these very important discussions on Ukraine's accession path in the fall.
On top of this, we must continue working on all other strands to support Ukraine. First, the sanctions to keep a high pressure on Russia while cracking down on circumvention. Second, providing the Ukrainian forces with what they need to be successful on the battlefield. We have been delivering military equipment to Ukraine. We have been stepping up efforts to jointly procure for urgent supplies. Now, we need the Spanish Presidency to secure a swift political agreement on the so-called Act in Support of Ammunition Production – it is a long name, in short the abbreviation is ASAP –, so that we can deliver more ammunition to Ukraine and, at the same time, replenish our own stocks as well. The third point for Ukraine is on accountability. Today, the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression starts its very important work in The Hague. It is documenting Russia's war crimes so that they can be brought to justice. And finally, and fourth, we need to advance the work on the use of proceeds from immobilised Russian assets. As you know, the Commission will come with a proposal on this soon. We know that Ukraine needs the funding. But it is also important that the world needs to see that such horrific crimes cannot go unpunished. This is in very short the agenda for Ukraine.
In parallel, of course, we must continue to deliver on our European agenda, on our policy work. I will start with the competitiveness of our industry and our economy. It is the first priority of the Spanish Presidency, and rightly so. We can be proud of Europe's leadership in innovation. But if we want to keep a head start in the global tech race, we need to nurture it. We need to improve our capacity to manufacture innovation at scale. And we need to send a very strong message to the industry that Europe is the place to do business. That is our triple purpose. That is what we have been doing with a number of proposals. That is what we need the Spanish Presidency to fast-track forward now.
On the agenda is for example the Green Deal Industrial Plan with the Net-Zero Industry Act, with the Critical Raw Materials Act, and, more recently, we call it STEP, it is the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform, which is also part of our MFF review. Our European agenda includes also our digital proposals, in particular the Artificial Intelligence Act which we need to conclude. And very importantly, the agenda includes the reform of the EU's fiscal rules. We have proposed to revamp our economic governance framework, so we want to stimulate reforms and investments, while ensuring fiscal sustainability. Here again, we count on the Spanish Presidency to steer and to conclude it by the end of the year.
All this work on promoting our competitiveness will create good jobs and it will create growth, and it will make our economy more robust, and it will make it more resilient to risks. In sum, it will strengthen our economic security. Economic security is increasingly an important topic for Europe and our international partners. And here too, we count on the Spanish Presidency to take forward the economic security strategy that we have presented. Not only do we have to use the existing tools that we have developed, but we also have to discuss new ones. And it means crucially that we need to build strong partnerships across the world. That is where Spain, with all its global clout, can really make a difference. I very much welcome the emphasis the Spanish Presidency puts on trade and cooperation in the Presidency programme. We already have an important event coming up, it was mentioned: It is the EU-CELAC Summit mid-July. It is the first such Summit with Latin America and the Caribbean since eight years, and a lot is at stake. I cannot refer to all the topics that are on the agenda. But most importantly, we want to push forward our EU-MERCOSUR trade agreement, we want to push it towards the finish line. We have a key agreement with Mexico that we want to finalise too. So I, here too, count on the Spanish Presidency. And finally, there is the agreement with Chile that is politically ready to go – so, we just need to formally sign it during this Presidency.
My last point will be on migration. Here, the notion of partnership is central as well. We have made good progress on the legislative proposals of the Pact on Migration and Asylum. Now we need to take it to the last mile so that it can be adopted by the end of this mandate. This is the legal proposal. But on the operational track, measures that we are doing in parallel, work must continue as well, in particular by forging comprehensive partnerships that invest in the economic stability of key countries of origin and transit. In this respect, for migration, we have proposed a very targeted increase of EUR 15 billion, as part of our MFF review.
All this is crucial during the next six months, so a lot of good work ahead of us. The important dossiers that are to be finalised, we know that sometimes it is just the last mile to go, but sometimes this is also the most difficult mile to go. Therefore, I am glad that I can count on the Spanish dedication, the Spanish leadership, and the Spanish deep European spirit. I am very much looking forward to the Spanish Presidency.
