Albares inaugurates “Cities of the Presidency: a European tour of Spain” exhibition

​Today, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has inaugurated, at the Marqués de Salamanca headquarters, the “Cities of the Presidency: a European tour of Spain” exhibition, which has been organised on the occasion of the Spanish Presidency of the EU that Spain will assume from 1 July. The exhibition has received material from the photographic archive of the EFE News Agency, and will be displayed in different Adif stations throughout Spain.

“This is a graphic expression to bring the European Presidency closer to the citizenry, in turn conveying our country’s diversity and richness in Europe. As well as featuring beautiful photography, this exhibition responds to the principles established by the Government towards a decentralised Presidency, close to the citizens”, stated the minister during the inauguration.

On 1 July, Spain will assume the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the fifth time in its history, and will not do so again until 2037. Designed as a country project, the government wants to involve all Autonomous Communities in the Presidency, and seeks to get closer to citizens. In this European semester, Spain will host more than 300 technical, cultural and citizen participation events, as well as informal ministerial meetings, and the informal European Council of Heads of State and Government. 

“A European tour of Spain​” offers a look at the 25 Spanish cities that will host high-level events during the Presidency and has a dual objective. First, to show that Spain's foreign actions in the EU represent a State policy structured throughout national territory and, second, to highlight the involvement of all the Autonomous Communities. The exhibition depicts a European Presidency that is present in all territories, and internationally shows Spain and its citizens in their best light. 

Travelling exhibition

The exhibition comprises 25 panels with photographs from the EFE archive.  “This is an exhibition that, somehow, also recalls the contribution of this public medium to territorial cohesion and the visibility of regions, cities, towns and villages, through its extensive network of delegations and sub-delegations spread throughout Spain”, according to Gabriela Cañas, EFE President.

​With the aim of bringing Europe closer to citizens and involving society in the Spanish Presidency of the EU, the exhibition will travel to different parts of Spain through the Adif Open Station Programme. This programme is the tool that Adif has adopted within the framework of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability to enhance the social connection of stations with their surroundings and increase the value that Adif provides in the places where it operates. 

Accordingly, the Adif Open Station Programme, operating since 2008, has become Adif's main instrument for cooperation with the third sector, making available, free of charge, an excellent platform (every year more than 150 million people go through Adif stations) to carry out activities, for no commercial purpose, that help them achieve their objectives. The stations add value for citizens by providing them with cultural, social or environmental content.

The exhibition can be visited in a total of 12 Adif stations distributed around Spain, with the following calendar: