Why does the PP block the new friendship treaty with France?

MadridThe battle between PP and PSOE transcends internal affairs and already has consequences in relations with third countries. More than three years after the government of Pedro Sánchez signed a treaty of friendship with France, in January 2023 in Barcelona, it has not yet come into force. One of the reasons for this blockage is the opposition of the Popular Party, which considers one of the points of the document to be unconstitutional. The PP justifies its opposition because they assure that the Spanish executive has made a "legislative mess". They frame the criticism within their generalized denunciation of Sánchez's methods, whom they accuse of constantly trampling on the rule of law, also with this bilateral agreement with France. The Spanish government, on the contrary, attributes to the PP a desire to "sabotage the interests of Spaniards" for partisan reasons.

The problematic point for Alberto Núñez Feijóo's party is 2.4 of the treaty, which establishes that a member of the French government will be invited to the Spanish Council of Ministers, or vice versa, on a rotating basis, at least every three months. The PP maintains that this clashes with the Spanish Constitution and that, with the Magna Carta in hand, the only person outside the Spanish government who can attend its meetings is the King of Spain. An argument that the PSOE considers unacceptable: they emphasize that the French government representative would only attend points on the agenda that affected treaty matters and not other issues. "The Spanish government would decide the agenda," emphasize PSOE sources.

Movement in the Senate

Faced with the approval of the document in Congress, almost a month ago, the Popular Party made a move in the Senate, where they have an absolute majority, to block it. They did so this Thursday in the extraordinary plenary session held by the upper house, with the votes of Vox as well. The PP has registered a request for a requirement to the Constitutional Court so that it pronounces on the fit of this point within the Spanish legal system. The approval of the petition, with the popular absolute majority, means the paralysis of the treaty's entry into force while awaiting the TC's decision. "They sold you a fake treaty in France and signed a treaty knowing that you were breaking the Constitution," snapped the popular senator during the debate, Pepa Pardo.

For the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, with this blockade the PP "attacks Spain". "I hope they pay dearly for it at the polls," he said on Telecinco, in addition to calling Alberto Núñez Feijóo's party "anti-system". After the vote, Albares showed his indignation on X: "The PP has crossed a red line".

Vicente Montávez, deputy of the PSOE in the Foreign Affairs committee, also accuses the PP in statements to ARA of "parliamentary obstructionism". It should be taken into account that the treaty implies – he explains – that France will treat Spain as an equal, as it is a "plus" cooperation that the country presided over by Emmanuel Macron only has signed with Germany and Italy.

For Montávez, the entry into force of the agreement would mean a step forward in the search for a new balance in relations within the European Union. It is the exploration of an alliance different from the traditional Franco-German axis that has dominated the community club since its creation. Furthermore, it has numerous advantages, he assures, for border territories, such as Catalonia, where there is a continuous flow of people and economic activity towards France. "Would the PP really not sign this pact if they were in power?", the socialist Montávez asks rhetorically, considering that the position of the popular party has nothing to do with the content of the treaty but rather with making permanent opposition to everything Sánchez does. For the socialist senator Concha Andreu, who intervened on behalf of the PSOE this Thursday, what the PP is doing with this move is "vulgar filibusterism close to Vox".