Could the Middle East conflict and the mixed response by the European Union to Donald Trump’s actions and threats be a watershed moment? Spain’s Prime Minister has really put the boot in by blocking the United States from using their bases in Spain to launch attacks, Trump has replied by threats of ending trade between the two countries, but Sánchez has not blinked and slowly fellow EU states have come to Spain’s support, some more than others.
Sánchez has always approved of the idea of the European Union but for many years has complained that it does not work as well as it could and should. This week he warned that “Europe’s values should not change”, in response to statements made by the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, following the escalation of war in the Middle East. “Yesterday’s world is a world without rules,” he said, assuring that “international disorder” led Europe to “two world wars”.
The Prime Minister has also perceived a “wave of pride in being Spanish” both inside and outside the country after the government’s “no to war”. Perhaps Sánchez has finally shown the way forward for a more united and cohesive European Union which will serve its citizens better.