EU stands by Madrid after Washington threat

The European Commission says it will fully safeguard the European Union's interests after the United States threatened to end trade relations with Spain in retaliation for Madrid denying the US use of its military bases for strikes on Iran.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez issued a forceful response on Wednesday to the US threat to sever trade ties with Spain, reaffirming his opposition to war and what he termed a "collapse of international law".

In a 10-minute television broadcast, Sanchez reflected on the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as the Iraq war more than 20 years ago, saying Madrid's stance can be summed up as "no to war".

Just hours later, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Spain had "agreed to cooperate with the US military", without providing details on what the cooperation would entail.

However, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told Cadena SER radio shortly afterward that "our position on the use of the bases, on the war in the Middle East, on the bombardment of Iran, has not changed at all".

Washington warned on Tuesday that it would slap a trade embargo on Spain after the EU member state and NATO ally barred US forces from using its bases for operations tied to strikes on Iran.

"Spain has been terrible," US President Donald Trump told journalists during a meeting with Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Washington.

"We're going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don't want anything to do with Spain," Trump added.

On Wednesday, the European Commission's deputy chief spokesman, Olof Gill, said, "We stand in full solidarity with all member states and all its citizens and, through our common trade policy, stand ready to act if necessary to safeguard EU interests."

Later on Wednesday, European Commission Vice-President Stephane Sejourne said, "Any threat against a member state is by definition a threat against the EU."

Gill added: "Trade between the European Union and the United States is deeply integrated and mutually beneficial. Safeguarding this relationship, particularly at a time of global disruption, is more important than ever and clearly in the interest of both sides."

Relations between the US and Spain were already strained, with Madrid resisting Washington's calls for NATO allies to boost defense spending.

Sanchez wrote on X that he had spoken with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa, both of whom voiced their support.

'Economic coercion'

Euronews reported that French President Emmanuel Macron had phoned Sanchez "to express France's European solidarity in response to the recent threats of economic coercion".

The EU-US trade accord struck last summer remains on ice after the European Parliament paused implementation following a February US Supreme Court ruling that deemed the administration's 2025 tariffs unlawful.

After his meeting with Trump in Washington on Tuesday, Merz told reporters that he had privately informed the US president that Spain could not be carved out of any trade pact concluded between the EU and the US.

"I said that Spain is a member of the European Union and we negotiate about tariffs with the United States only together or not at all," he said. "There is no way to treat Spain particularly badly."

AFP contributed to this story.

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