After the 19th Ibero-American Summit, held in Estoril, President Rodríguez Zapatero travelled to Lisbon, where he met with the Prime Minister of Portugal, José Sócrates.
Afterwards, both premiers attended the ceremony organised by the Portuguese Government to celebrate the entering into force of the Lisbon Treaty.
As the future President of the European Union, starting January 1, 2010, Mr Rodríguez Zapatero delivered a brief speech in which he highlighted the importance of the Lisbon Treaty, thanks to which Europe will be "a stronger and more solid project, oriented towards an international order of peace and understanding, of multilateralism, and to the advancement of equality, cooperation for development, and fight against poverty and destitution."
Mr. Zapatero added that Spain was a country "loyal to Europe," its values and principles, its goals and institutions and, therefore, it would be "loyal to the Lisbon Treaty, the European Commission, the European Council, and all other institutions" in its turn at the EU Presidency.
Meeting with José Sócrates
Before attending the ceremony to celebrate the entering into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the President of the Government lunched with the Prime Minister of Portugal, José Sócrates, and informed him of Spain's priorities for the Spanish Presidency of the EU.
At the meeting, they were able to check their countries had converging goals and interests within the European framework with regard to both the relaunch of the Union for the Mediterranean and the boost of relations with Latin America.
Mr. Zapatero and Mr. Sócrates also discussed maritime policies, the renewal of the Lisbon Agenda, and the "excellent" bilateral relations between Spain and Portugal.
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