La Granja (Segovia) iwill host the first informal meeting of ministers for Europe of the Spanish Presidency, where the Secretary of State for the EU, Diego López Garrido will present the aims of the Spanish Presidency, along with the broad lines of the joint programme of the trio of Presidencies (Spain, Belgium and Hungary)

The Ministers for Europe of the 27 Member States, the Vice-President of the European Commission, Margot Wallström, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, and the Chairman of the Reflection Group on the Future of Europe, Felipe González will examine important issues that will centre the work of the Spanish Presidency during the next six months.

The meeting will take place from 12 to 14 January. The main areas of debate will be the EU 2020 Strategy, the application of the Treaty of Lisbon and European citizenship. The Spanish Secretary of State for the EU, Diego López Garrido, will present the aims of the Spanish Presidency, along with the broad lines of the joint programme of the trio of Presidencies (Spain, Belgium and Hungary). The meeting begins with an official dinner on Tuesday 12 and ends on Thursday 14 with a press conference.

The Treaty of Lisbon, which came into effect on 1 December, will be one of the protagonists of this meeting. The objective of this new treaty is to modernise the functioning of the EU, making it more transparent and democratic and strengthening its role in the world. The ministers will tackle setting up the European External Action Service which, according to a European Council decision, must be launched before April this year, a deadline which the Presidency intends to meet.

The session on Thursday will be wholly dedicated to the EU 2020 strategy that the Presidency wants to promote as a way of restarting economic growth and creating employment in the EU. This new plan, based on sustainable growth, must be outlined in the coming months and will succeed the Lisbon strategy.