A kick to the Government in everyone's backside

On 19 January 2023, Emmanuel Macron and Pedro Sánchez signed a Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between France and Spain in Barcelona. The agreement, similar to those between France and Germany, Italy and Poland, and between Spain and Portugal and Morocco, covers a wide range of issues, from security to culture and education, and a quick glance at it shows that it is obviously beneficial to the citizens of both countries.

In 2025, the French Assembly ratified it almost as a matter of course. This is what should have happened in Spain; however, although Congress approved the text on 16 June - with the opposition of the PP and VOX - the Senate, controlled by the PP, blocked it on 6 July. The reason? The PP alleges that one of the points of the agreement may be unconstitutional, according to which a member of the French Government will be invited to participate periodically in the Spanish Council of Ministers, and vice versa, which could clash with Article 98 of the Constitution, which states that the Government is composed only of "the President, Vice-Presidents, Ministers and other members established by law" (and, according to Law 50/1997 of the Government, only the Government and certain senior officials may attend the Council of Ministers).

However, this is not a reason; it is an excuse. Apart from the fact that identical clauses appear in the agreements between France and Germany and Italy, the governments of France and Spain signed a document specifying that the ministers of the other country would not join the formal meeting of the Council, but would do so "on the margins" of it. What, then, is the real reason for the blockade?