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Published on: 05/06/2026 - 18:45 Modified on: 05/06/2026 - 18:47

This week we welcome José Manuel Albares, Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs. Immigration, conflict in the Middle East, rise of the far right: it details Spain's policies, sometimes going against the grain of the rest of the Union.

Spain, a country of 50 million inhabitants, is one of the European Union (EU) states to most strongly oppose Israel's action in the Middle East. The EU, however, is intensifying its pressure on Israel by preparing sanctions against ministers accused of encouraging human rights violations, notably the Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir. For José Manuel Albares, Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, these sanctions are "necessary": "We must send a strong message to Israel by telling them that we obviously support the existence of their State. Israel must have the right to peace and security but this is also the case for the Palestinian and Lebanese people. [...] Democracy respects human rights and international law. As long as this perpetual violence continues, Europe cannot have the same relationship with Israel."

“A peaceful coexistence that guarantees the safety of everyone”

Some member states such as Ireland, Slovenia and Spain are calling for the suspension of the association agreement between the EU and Israel, a text which allows commercial exchanges within a free trade framework in several sectors. Germany, for example, opposes this suspension. José Manuel Albares denounces the fact that article 2 of the text guaranteeing "respect for human rights and democratic principles" is not applied by Israel: "We cannot continue like this. We must tell Israel that we will not accept that war is the only type of relationship between them and the other peoples of the Middle East. There must be peaceful coexistence that guarantees the security of everyone." According to him, we must also "give a response to public opinion which demands that we do everything in our power" to resolve these conflicts. "Part of the agreement must be suspended by unanimous vote but another by qualified majority. I say that we must vote and see the result by qualified majority, for the commercial part of the agreement for example," he continues.

“Russia is losing this war”

The war is bogged down in Ukraine while the Russians continue their daily strikes: "Vladimir Putin said that this war would last 72 hours at most. We are in the fifth year of conflict. We can say that Russia is losing this war." The head of Spanish diplomacy recalls the EU's unconditional support for Ukraine: "Regardless of the military situation, we cannot accept this in Europe. [...] We must defend the independence, democracy and territorial integrity of Ukraine. Therefore, we are determined to support Ukraine so that it not only wins the war, but above all wins the peace."

France notably mentioned the idea of ​​re-opening a channel of discussion with Russia in order to move forward in the negotiations. An idea to which the Spanish minister is not opposed but which pushes him to wonder: "The real question is to talk about what exactly? I would like there to be a negotiating table and a cease-fire but Russia does not want to hear about it. [...] On several occasions, mediators have tried to bring the Russians back to the table, to obtain a cease-fire but this has not succeeded. If these new discussions lead to real change around talks of peace, of course, why not." And to recall: “Neither the Ukrainians, nor the Europeans, nor the European institutions wanted this war. It is one man’s war.”

“I call for a European army”

José Manuel Albares also calls for strengthening European defense without cutting ties with the United States: "I firmly believe in the transatlantic relationship from a commercial and security point of view. It is fundamental. But at the same time, I am completely in favor of Europeans increasing their own security. I call for a European army which will not replace national armies but which could guarantee threats against Europe."

To do this, he explains that Spain is "favorable to the gradual European preference", that is to say an increase in purchases of defense equipment produced in the EU. "This does not mean that we will be isolated or withdrawn. Spain is in favor of European preference but that does not mean that it does not have relations at the level of the defense industry with the United Kingdom, Norway or even with the United States."

“All migration policy must respect human rights”

In Spain, the former Minister of Transport, close to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, is on trial for corruption in public markets during the Covid-19 pandemic. Then, the socialist predecessor of the current Prime Minister, José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, was indicted for influence peddling. According to José Manuel Albares, these cases do not weaken Pedro Sanchez or his coalition: "We have a motion of censure mechanism in our Constitution, which is the motion of censure. [...] There is no majority to reach this motion. There is not a single member of the government who is involved. Pedro Sanchez acts quickly, he does not tolerate corruption and lets justice work quietly."

Member States are tightening their migration policies and setting up return centers located outside European territory, which should receive foreigners who have to leave the EU, particularly after an asylum request has been refused. A measure which worries NGOs about a risk of violation of human rights. Spain opposes these centers: "We are firmly opposed to them because we consider that this does not respect the dignity of migrants. Any migration policy must respect human rights."

According to him, the countries which would host these centers would find themselves in a "very embarrassing" position: "We must have a very high-level dialogue with our partners instead of forcing them to have detention centers like that." Finally, these centers are "not effective", according to the Spanish minister: "What is effective? This is what Spain is doing. Official EU figures show that the migratory route through which there has been the biggest drop in the number of arrivals of irregular migrants is the one that passes through Spain. Either through Andalusia, the Mediterranean or the Canary Islands."

He recalls the principles of the Spanish reception policy: "We have police cooperation to fight fiercely against the mafias who traffic with humans. Then, we are increasing our development aid to West Africa to offer paths to African youth."

The Minister of Foreign Affairs praises the benefits of this migration policy: "We have the strongest economic growth in Europe, double that of France for example. This allows us to increase our salaries, to have a record level of employment of more than 22 million people and to have reduced our unemployment rate by 40% in recent years. It is possible to have a migration policy which reconciles human rights, the dignity of each person, reduces the entry figures of illegal migration, which allows for the strongest growth in Europe and which makes our population grow."

While nine countries are officially candidates for membership in the EU, Spain is "favorable" to the entry of new states into the Union: "We believe that the destiny of these countries is to one day be part of the EU. This must continue to be based on merit but we can help them in terms of infrastructure for example. We have learned from previous enlargements. We spend a lot of time discussing the technical aspects of membership such as the impact on the common agricultural policy or the deficit We must do the same on questions of values and respect for democracy."

“We want to have a balanced commercial relationship”

While the European Commission seeks to strengthen its trade defenses against China, Spain is heavily dependent on Chinese investments, particularly in the automobile and solar energy sectors: "We have this dialogue with China because it represents an immense percentage of our trade deficit. We must resolve these problems. Then, we have a global foreign policy. To fight climate change, to obtain peace in the Middle East or in Iran, we must speak with the great powers, including China."

He nevertheless recalls the importance of having a "balanced" relationship: "China must open up if it does not want Europe to close itself. We want to have a commercial relationship but for the same rules to apply on one side and the other. We are trying to bring China towards world peace, towards the fight against climate change and major multilateral agreements."

Faced with the multiple attacks facing the EU, José Manuel Albares is worried about the weakening of democracy: "Countries outside the EU would like to see a European project weakened and divided. But the threat is also internal: far-right forces directly threaten our democracies. Every citizen has their say to ensure that Europe remains a project of democracy, peace and prosperity," he concludes.

Program prepared by Renaud Lefort, Oihana Almandoz, Aline Bottin, Charlotte Prud'homme, Isabelle Romero and Perrine Desplats

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