Albares responds to Von der Leyen: “The alternative to international order is disorder”

Eduardo González Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares warned on Tuesday, in response to the latest controversial statements by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, that “the alternative to international order is disorder.” “We fully identify with the words of António Costa, the President of the European Council, who has indicated that Europe must defend international order, because the alternative to international order is disorder, it is the absence of order,” Albares declared at the press conference following the Council of Ministers meeting. During the EU Ambassadors Conference 2026, held in Brussels, Von der Leyen stated on Monday that the EU cannot depend on rules-based multilateralism as “the only way to defend our interests.” At the same Conference of Ambassadors, the President of the Council warned on Tuesday that the Union must uphold “the rules-based international order” and stressed that “violations of international law must not be accepted, whether in Ukraine, Greenland, Latin America, Africa, Gaza, or the Middle East.” According to Albares, “there is no opposition between an old order and a new order that would replace it: either the international order that establishes virtuous relations between states, or disorder.” “And one has to choose: either law, or the alternative, which is force; either peace and peaceful relations between states, or the use of war as an instrument of foreign policy; either progress, or historical evolution,” he added at the press conference. “The Spanish people need to understand this, and I believe they understand it perfectly: the international order is not merely a legal construct, it is not only international law, although that is also important: it is multilateralism, through which we confront serious global challenges, climate change, the management of migration flows; it is free trade, which guarantees the prosperity of all our citizens; it is development and economic growth; in short, it is everything that fosters virtuous relations between different states,” the minister warned. “Furthermore, the European Union is, above all, a construct of rights. The European Union is, first and foremost, its treaties and the law that protects us all, because the opposite, what opposes the law, is force, and the European Commission, above all, has the mission of being the guarantor of that law and of the treaties that make up the European Union,” he concluded. In any case, the minister clarified, in response to a question from journalists, that the Spanish government “has not lodged any complaint” with the Commission regarding Von der Leyen’s statements. “It was a speech before the ambassadors of the European Union, and what she was doing was reflecting on the moment we were in,” he added. For her part, the government spokesperson, Elma Saiz, warned, regarding the words of the president of the European Commission, that “a world without international law, without United Nations resolutions, without multilateralism, is a world we do not want to return to.” “We emerged from it after the two world wars, and it is the Prime Minister (Pedro Sánchez) who is leading, loudly and clearly, this ‘no to war,’ which is the best measure to protect the lives and livelihoods of the citizens,” she added. PSOE and Sumar criticize Von der Leyen's words Both the PSOE and Sumar, the two components of Pedro Sánchez's coalition government, criticized Ursula von der Leyen's words on Tuesday. Speaking to the press, the PSOE's deputy spokesperson in Congress, Montse Mínguez, acknowledged that her party was "very surprised" by Ursula von der Leyen's words and warned that the European Union has "established rules that must be followed" and that unilateralism "has never been a good solution." For her part, Verónica Martínez Barbero, spokesperson for the multinational Sumar group in Congress, stated that Von der Leyen, with her words, appears to be “in the pocket” of the US and Israel, while Aina Vidal (of the Comuns), co-spokesperson for Vice President Yolanda Díaz's party, warned that the Commission Chair's position is “very serious and she must retract it.” “I think it's clear there is an alternative to all the bootlickers” of US President Donald Trump, she warned, as quoted by news agencies. Friedrich Merz On the other hand, Elma Saiz declined to reopen the wound opened by the recent actions of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who last week silently witnessed, without any reaction, the words of US President Donald Trump, in which he threatened to "cut off all trade with Spain" in retaliation for the decision by Pedro Sánchez's government not to allow the use of the Morón and Rota military bases for the offensive against Iran. "The president's dialogue with all European leaders is constant," the spokesperson declared in response to a question about Sánchez's alleged attempts to contact Merz and about the conversation between the two leaders' offices. "President Sánchez's voice is an internationally recognized voice at this time, a clear voice," Saiz continued. “We are not alone; we are the first to raise our voices and to place international law and respect for the rule of law where it belongs, and that is the constant message of Spain's dialogue with European leaders in all forums and at all times,” she asserted. In any case, she affirmed, Spain's relations with Germany and the United States “are excellent.”

Related Content

St. Patrick’s Day celebration begins in Madrid

Albares sends official Spanish translation of Gibraltar treaty to stakeholders

Spain “strongly” condemns Iranian attacks against French and Italian troops in Iraq

The Irish ambassador highlights competitiveness as one of the priorities of the future EU Presidency

Social Security surpasses three million foreign affiliates, now representing 14.2% of the national total