Starmer and Sánchez put aside internal problems to sign a bilateral strategic agreement.

LondonForeign policy is often more rewarding than the domestic front, a principle that, upon returning from vacation, in this case holds true for both the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the President of the Spanish Government. And in a lightning visit of just over two hours, Pedro Sánchez will arrive at Downing Street this Wednesday afternoon to confirm this, and to hold his first bilateral meeting with Keir Starmer in an atmosphere of maximum cordiality and institutional cooperation.

And the major foreign policy message that Sánchez delivered hours before landing in London is that Europe's double standards in the face of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza threaten to "seriously damage" the credibility of the Union and the West as a whole. In an interview published this morning The Guardian, which features prominently on both the front page of the print and online editions, the Socialist leader states that the European reaction to the Israeli offensive on Palestinian territory constitutes "one of the darkest episodes in 21st-century international relations," and contrasts with the unity shown in the response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Sánchez recalls that the division between member states when it comes to influencing Israel projects an image of selective morality that hinders the EU's global role. Very comfortable in his role as a beacon of the international left, the president of the government also takes the opportunity to warn about the US role under Donald Trump, whom he accuses of eroding the international order created by Washington after the Second World War with his isolationism, withdrawal from climate agreements, and reduction of aid and support programs for multi-agency organizations. In this context, Sánchez emphasizes that Europe will only be able to strengthen its influence if it acts coherently and avoids "double standards." Sánchez also defended the benefits of migration, in contrast to the hard line of several European governments, including that of Keir Starmer, and emphasizes that immigration is "an opportunity" to sustain the welfare state and respond to the economic and labor challenges of the contemporary world.

Beyond the new international onslaught of President Sánchez, who with his statements to The Guardian It seems that he wants to regain prominence on the international scene, after having been absent from the Washington meeting with European leaders, Trump and Zelensky On August 18, a memorandum of understanding between the United Kingdom and Spain will be signed in London. According to sources from the Moncloa, the agreement seeks to establish a "stable framework for cooperation" between the two countries in areas ranging from the economy and trade to mobility, sustainable tourism, climate change, and social rights.

The visit also has a significant economic backdrop. The United Kingdom is the fifth largest market for Spanish goods exports and the largest investor in Spain in terms of net flows in 2024. Cumulative investment between the two countries exceeds €150 billion. In this context, sources from the executive emphasize that "Brexit has not weakened ties, but rather strengthened them." These ties are also very notable from a human perspective, both due to the presence of more than 300,000 Spanish citizens in the United Kingdom and the presence of no fewer than 700,000 British citizens in Spain.

What they signed this afternoon is the first major pact between Madrid and London since the United Kingdom left the European UnionStarmer and Sánchez met for the first time as heads of government. at the summit of the European Political Community in July last year, when it had been just two weeks since Labour had returned to power, after fourteen years in opposition.

They have subsequently greeted each other briefly in other international forums and maintained regular contact. But diplomatic sources have suggested that the formality of a bilateral meeting was not possible until the provisional situation weighing on Gibraltar, in limbo since Brexit, was resolved. Finally, the historic agreement that was reached Last June, in relation to border controls and other aspects of the Rock's situation and its connection with Spanish territory, has facilitated the staging of this afternoon, when Starmer joins Sánchez's hand, with the cameras as witnesses.

As has been pointed out, the meeting goes beyond the political contacts on the international situation that Starmer and Sánchez may exchange: from the war in Ukraine to the situation in Gaza. On the occasion of the visit of the President of the Spanish Government, a round table will also be held with the participation of the top executives of some of the main companies that have interests in both Spain and the United Kingdom. Among others, Aena, Iberdrola, Navantia, Telefónica, FCC, ITP Aero, Santander and Indra, and, on the British side, AstraZeneca, Barclays, BP and Octopus. The two Ministers of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo and Rachel Reeves, will be present, and will be joined later by premier and Sánchez.

Besieged by the far right

But the predictable smiles and hugs between the two progressive leaders—almost the exception in Europe, apart from Denmark and Malta—cannot make us forget that both are going through a complex situation on this internal front. Especially Pedro Sánchez, who is being subjected to enormous pressure by the PP opposition, which is trying not to let Vox gain ground.

With the alleged corruption that has hit the PSOE with the Cerdán affairs and Ábalos, and the judicial cases that affect the wife and brother of the president of the government –and that he himself denounced on Monday, in an interview on Spanish Television, as cases of lawfare–Starmer's back blows will hardly be able to comfort Sánchez in the face of an autumn marked by judicial control of Spanish political life and the smoke that still rises from the 400,000 hectares of burned forests on the Peninsula and the political strife that they have fueled.

The consolation that Sánchez can offer Starmer will not be able to abstract the premier that, a year and a bit after his overwhelming victory in the July 2024 elections, his popularity has sunk to historic lows. Starmer, who just this week has just remodeled his staff for the third time to try to boost a government lacking direction, according to critics from both the left and the right, is also harassed by the far-right Reformist Party. Its leader, Brexiteer Nigel Farage, has found in migrants, in border control and in the mass deportations Turkish bosses and scapegoats with which to erode Labour's poll numbers.

In both the United Kingdom and Spain, migrants and asylum seekers have become a weapon. However, Starmer has more time, and what he has done is adopt the language and ways of the extremists in the hope of resisting, and has suspended, for example, the right to family reunification for refugees. The unknown regarding Sánchez is whether he will continue to lead the government in a year, when the British and Spanish foreign ministers are due to meet as part of the implementation of the strategic agreement that will be signed at 10 Downing Street in the coming hours.