Arancha Gonzalez: How much influence does the EU have?
The Interview
BBC
4.3 • 537 Ratings
🗓️ 16 November 2020
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In the midst of of a pandemic which has inflicted severe damage on the European economy, it is tempting to see the US election victory of Joe Biden as a boost for the EU. After all, Donald Trump seemed to view Europe more as an economic rival than strategic partner. Stephen Sackur speaks to Spain's foreign minister Arancha Gonzalez. What kind of power and influence can the EU wield on the world stage when it is grappling with a covid-recession, Brexit and deep internal division?
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | You're listening to a podcast from the BBC World Service. This is Hard Talk with me, Stephen Sacker. |
| 0:07.0 | Thanks for downloading this edition of the program. I do hope you enjoy it. |
| 0:11.5 | Welcome to Hard Talk on the BBC World Service with me, Stephen Sacker. My guest today is a technocrat |
| 0:17.6 | who rose through the ranks in the EU Commission and then the World Trade |
| 0:21.6 | Organization before accepting the invitation of Spain's socialist Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, |
| 0:27.7 | to become Spain's foreign minister at the beginning of this year. Arancho Gonzalez could hardly |
| 0:33.3 | have taken the job in more inauspicious circumstances. The COVID-19 pandemic has put enormous strain |
| 0:40.0 | on the economy and internal cohesion of the European Union. At the same time, the effort to seal |
| 0:47.3 | a post-Brexit trade deal with the UK has dragged on, and President Trump has continued to snipe at Europe's trade and security strategies. |
| 0:58.4 | But now, of course, things look a little different. Joe Biden, a long-time supporter of close |
| 1:03.8 | U.S. partnership with Europe, is President-elect. There's much hopeful talk of a COVID vaccine |
| 1:09.9 | being rolled out within months. |
| 1:12.5 | So is the EU in a strong position to take advantage of these more favourable wins? |
| 1:18.5 | Well, Foreign Minister Anja Gonzalez joins me now from Madrid. |
| 1:22.5 | Welcome to Hard Talk. |
| 1:24.1 | It's great to be with you. |
| 1:25.7 | I think we have to start with events in the United States. |
| 1:28.2 | Key European leaders like Angela Merkel have made little effort to disguise their relief |
| 1:34.6 | that Joe Biden is now president-elect in the United States. Do you share that feeling yourself? |
| 1:41.7 | Well, you see, Spaniards, Europeans don't get to choose the American |
| 1:46.0 | president. It's Americans that choose their president. They have spoken. They have a president |
| 1:52.6 | elect in the person of Joe Biden. And now the Europeans and the Spaniards and my government |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.