Paris, Jan. 19, 2021 (Lusa) - Similar ambitions for the European project and presidencies of the Council of the European Union are followed by Lisbon and Paris, creating a "real spirit of mutual help" between the two countries, according to the Portuguese ambassador in France.

"There is a real spirit of mutual help from the French wanting a successful Portuguese presidency, which is not just a figure of rhetoric that repeats itself every six months," Jorge Torres-Pereira, Portugal's ambassador to France said in an interview with Lusa.

The Portuguese embassy will become an "intermediary" between the French government and representatives of other European countries in Paris in this first half of 2021, promoting meetings between ambassadors and prominent French figures, such as ministers and other political leaders.

Although many of these events are behind closed doors and with few people due to the current health situation, the Portuguese diplomat said that there are "similarities in the European ambitions between the two countries" and complementarity between what they advocate.

"The French are hoping that we can take the necessary steps to make life easier for them and have a successful presidency," he said, as France will take over the presidency of the EU Council in January 2022.

The ambassador said that since Emmanuel Macron's election to the Elysée in 2017, it is "increasingly consensual" that it is in the European dimension that the major issues affecting France are resolved.

"France understands that the European dimension is fundamental," the diplomat said, especially at a time of the pandemic.

Torres-Pereira is optimistic that normal activity will resume in the spring, allowing the Portuguese presidency to have more physical meetings and less recourse to videoconferencing.

"It is always difficult for a diplomat because it is in establishing chemistry with others that we often achieve the best opportunities that a meeting allows. So in complicated negotiations, there is no doubt that advances and unblocking of situations are not made in the plenary rooms, but in the corridors," he explained.

Portugal took over its fourth presidency of the Council of the EU on 1 January, which will run through the first half of 2021, taking over from Germany and ahead of Slovenia, under the slogan "Time to act: for a fair, green and digital recovery".

CYF/ADB // ADB.

Lusa