NATO, Gaza, and immigration: all the battles Pedro Sánchez is fighting alone.

BrusselsOne of the images left by the NATO summit in The Hague It was an isolated Pedro SánchezHe was seen slightly removed from the family photo of the Alliance leaders, not speaking to any of his counterparts in the moments before the start of the meeting, when it is customary for leaders to take advantage of the opportunity to exchange a few words in a more relaxed manner. Although it may seem like an innocuous detail, it accurately represents the current situation of the Spanish president on the international scene in areas such as European rearmament, the defense of the fight against climate change, the war in Gaza and Benjamin Netanyahu's government, and, among others, immigration.

The reactionary wave is growing and has already shifted the positioning of Spain's usual allies to the right, both in the European Union and NATO. In fact, Sánchez is now the main Socialist leader of the European bloc, and within the Alliance, the only progressive leading a country with greater influence is Britain's Keir Starmer. Furthermore, some of the leaders who are also from the Social Democratic family are very far from those of the head of the Spanish executive, especially in migration and defense.

At the NATO summit in The Hague, Sánchez's isolation was evident. Not one other head of state or government stood in the way of Donald Trump's demand to agree on a commitment to reach a minimum military spending equivalent to 5% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of each state. In fact, his opposition and the subsequent threats against Spain by the President of the United States took up almost all the attention of the annual meeting of the Atlantic Alliance. However, and despite having approved the 5% agreement, the leader of the PSOE continues to refuse to reach this rate of defense spending and maintains that it will remain at 2.1%A position that must be understood given the situation in Congress: all of Sánchez's partners are wary of or outright reject the increase in military spending.

On the contrary, it also stands alone in defending the fight against climate change. Although until a few years ago it was one of Brussels' and the EU's main obsessions, it has now become a completely secondary issue, and even some leaders—including Ursula von der Leyen—find some EU environmental measures excessive. In this sense, investments that until now were intended primarily for environmental protection are being diverted to rearmament. One of the clearest cases is that of the European Investment Bank; it is the main financial arm of the EU bloc, and while its original purpose was to promote the ecological transition, it now wants to be used to rapidly increase the military capacity of the European arms industry.

The EU ignores Sánchez's request to sanction Israel.

Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares unsuccessfully called for this at the EU Foreign Affairs Council on Monday, and Sánchez tried again at the European Council on Thursday. However, the EU completely ignored them on both occasions. European leaders decided not to cancel the association agreement with Israel, either partially or temporarily, and not to impose any sanctions on Tel Aviv.

The only countries that supported Sánchez's initiative were two of the smallest in the EU club, Slovenia and Ireland. The remaining members considered the decision they made on May 21 to review the association agreement with Israel—a gesture with no practical consequences whatsoever—sufficient to put diplomatic pressure on Netanyahu, who continues to block humanitarian aid to Gaza after 55,000 deaths. However, sources at the Moncloa (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) expressed "great satisfaction" that Sánchez's counterparts had agreed to include a reference to Article 2 of the association agreement between the EU and Israel in the meeting's conclusions.

Despite his isolation, all the business Sánchez has on the international stage allows him to divert attention from all the corruption cases that plague him. In fact, the leader of the opposition, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, accused him of "artificially" seeking a clash with Trump so that, at least for a few days, the Santos Cerdán case would be dropped. In this sense, although the former number three of the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) will testify before the Supreme Court on Monday, next week he will once again have the opportunity to continue focusing media attention on international issues due to the UN International Conference on Financing for Development, to be held in Seville, which will host leaders and authorities from around the world.

Meloni's anti-immigration rhetoric prevails.

Von der Leyen once again presented to the European Council the string of measures she intends to promote to reduce the influx of new arrivals into the EU and make return policies more efficient. How so? This is an initiative that the European courts themselves question as complying with European regulations, humanitarian law, and international law. Therefore, Brussels has also put forward legislative proposals to provide legal backing for the Meloni Plan.

Although the Italian leader feared she would not be well received in the EU, the vast majority of EU leaders welcomed her with open arms and adopted her anti-immigration policies. One of her most supportive leaders is the Prime Minister of Denmark, Social Democrat Mette Frederiksen, who is also a staunch defender of rearmament and the remilitarization of European society. In fact, the Danish leader is currently the second-largest leader of the European Socialist Party within the European bloc, behind only Sánchez. But she doesn't support him on key issues such as immigration or defense. The Spanish Prime Minister is swimming almost alone and against the current of most of his counterparts, both in the EU and NATO.