Spain takes over EU presidency

Spain has taken over the presidency of the European Union (EU) and the prime minister says his country will strive to end Europe's economic crisis.

Spain took over the presidency from Sweden today. It is the first under the bloc's overhauled structure.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said that under the new Treaty of Lisbon the 27-member EU must work to assert itself more on the global stage.

One of the key goals of the treaty is to streamline EU decision-making procedures so the bloc can act more quickly. It also created the post of full-time president, Belgium's Herman Van Rompuy, and named a new foreign policy chief, Britain's Catherine Ashton.

 

Zapatero spoke in a short video posted on a website the government has created to launch the presidency.