Spain’s Senate rejects friendship treaty with France during Macron visit

Spain’s Senate on Tuesday, September 29, rejected a friendship and cooperation treaty with France, coinciding with French President Emmanuel Macron’s first day of a state visit to Madrid.

The agreement was rejected by 142 votes to 106, with one senator abstaining. The opposition Popular Party (PP), which holds an absolute majority in the upper house, voted against the treaty, along with Vox.

The treaty had previously been approved by the lower house of parliament. It was signed by Macron and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in Barcelona in January 2023 and was designed to deepen bilateral cooperation and establish a mechanism for regular consultations between the two governments.

The PP had challenged a provision allowing a minister from one country to participate in a meeting of the other country’s Council of Ministers. The two governments subsequently clarified that the provision concerned participation in separate, special meetings rather than formal cabinet sessions.

Spain’s Constitutional Court ruled unanimously last week that the provision was compatible with the country’s Constitution, clearing the way for the treaty to return to the Senate.

Despite that ruling, the Senate rejected the agreement on Tuesday, preventing its ratification from being completed. The treaty had already been ratified by France in 2025.

Earlier on Tuesday, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia welcomed Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, to Madrid with full military honours.

Macron is due to meet Sánchez on Wednesday. The visit is the first state visit by a French president to Spain since 2009.

By Tamilla Hasanova