A debate in the European Parliament to evaluate the Spanish presidency of the European Union resulted in several references to the World Cup, German Liberal Alexander Graf Lambsdorff describing Spain’s performance to that of Fernando Torres in South Africa, ‘great expectations, but very disappointing’.
The general feeling appears to be that the Spanish presidency promised so much, such as ambitious economic programmes, but delivered very little.
There was also criticism relating to external relations, with planned meetings with the USA and the Mediterranean States having been cancelled.
The German Labour leader Martin Schulz was another critic of Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, as was Italian Mario Mauro, who stated that it had been a great year for Spain and the likes of Casillas and Del Bosque but not for Zapatero.
It was also acknowledged, however, that the responsibility for a particular situation or action may sometimes rest with all the Member States rather than with the Presidency.