Spanish Government Welcomes EU’s Consideration to Suspend Trade Agreement with Israel

The Government has expressed satisfaction with the European Union’s proposal for a “partial” suspension of the trade association agreement with Israel, though it had been advocating for a complete suspension for some time. On Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen introduced this partial suspension to EU partners and suggested sanctions against extremist Israeli ministers and violent settlers, which Spain has already approved.
Government sources emphasized that Pedro Sánchez has been leading this initiative and critiqued Europe’s slow response. They also questioned the PP’s stance on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, wondering if they would accuse Von der Leyen, who belongs to their political family, of collaborating with Hamas, similar to their accusations against Sánchez.
The PP has been cautious, opting to study von der Leyen’s proposal thoroughly but has indicated it would not oppose its implementation. Nonetheless, they used the opportunity to criticize the Government, alleging it is exploiting foreign policy to distract from corruption issues. This contention arose during the first control session in Congress after the holiday break, where José Manuel Albares, the Foreign Affairs Minister, clashed with popular deputy Carlos Floriano, who condemned the Executive for using the Middle East situation to “cover up corruption,” labeling such actions as “shameful” given the suffering of Gazans.
Albares countered that “silence and indifference are complicit, and always betray the victims,” pressing Floriano on how many more civilians must die and how many babies must suffer starvation for them to be motivated to act. This exchange occurred just before von der Leyen’s proposal was announced, which the head of Spanish diplomacy backed, expressing a preference for a total suspension of the agreement over a partial one (August 10).