Spain takes over EU presidency

Spain took over the presidency of the European Union on Friday, with the prime minister promising to work to end the continent's economic crisis. The six-month rotating post passed from Sweden to Spain at the stroke of midnight, and the country launched its stint in the helm with a spectacular sound and light show for New Year's Eve revelers gathered at the Puerta del Sol, one of Madrid's most emblematic plazas. Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said Spain's main goal as EU president is "to fight for economic recovery, for recovery from the crisis, and make Europe an economy that is more and more productive, more and more innovative and more and more sustainable."

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