Just a few days after the Greenland crisis triggered by US threat to ’take’ the world’s largest island began to wane, another test of transatlantic relations has emerged. Spain has angered the US president by refusing to make military bases on its territory available for the attack on Iran. European allies are standing firmly behind Spain for now.
“Spain has been terrible (…) We are going to cut off all trade with Spain. We do not want anything to do with Spain,” said Donald Trump, President of the United States, during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday.
Trump’s comments came as a response to Spain’s ban on the use of military bases on Spanish territory for attacks on Iran. The United States and Israeli air forces began bombing Iran without declaring war on the morning of 28 February.
EU’s heavyweights voice solidarity
Although the German Chancellor had not responded immediately to Trump’s threat in Washington, he later commented that “there is no way that Spain will be treated particularly badly”. He pointed out that no trade embargo is technically possible, given that Spain is part of the European single market.
There is no way that Spain will be treated particularly badly. – Friedrich Merz, German Chancellor
Mr Merz was even more forthright in comments to the German press. “In Washington, they know that we on the European side have reached a limit in terms of what we are willing to accept (…) I have gained the impression that the President (Trump) and his staff see it that way too,” the German Chancellor said.
A similar reaction came from another important EU country. French President Emmanuel Macron rang Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez to convey his support. Macron insisted that the 27 member countries of the EU are united in hitting back against Washington if Donald Trump delivers on his trade threat. “The President expressed France’s European solidarity in response to the recent threats of economic coercion that targeted Spain,” a Macron’s aide confirmed after the call.
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In a more general tone, Council President António Costa stressed that “the European Union will always ensure that the interests of its member states are fully protected.”
’Russian roulette with the destiny of millions’
Among all European countries, Spain was one of the most vocal critics of Israel’s war in Gaza, which claimed the lives of at least 70,000 people, mostly civilians. This intense Israeli military campaign was significantly supported by massive supplies of American weapons and ammunition.
We will not be complicit in something that is bad for the world simply out of fear of reprisals from someone. – Perdo Sánchez, Spain’s Prime Minister
Prime Minister Sánchez is once again not mincing his words when it comes to the latest actions of the United States and Israel. He compared the escalating conflict in the Middle East to playing ’Russian roulette with the destiny of millions’, stressing that the attack on Iran is a clear violation of international law.
“We will not be complicit in something that is bad for the world—and that is also contrary to our values and interests—simply out of fear of reprisals from someone,” Mr Sánchez said calling the US/Israeli bombardment of Iran “unscrupulous and illegal”. On Friday, 6 March Mr Sánchez said in an interview for Spanish media outlet El País that “this is the war for which we will have to pay”.
