Sánchez will invoke the EU Treaty to defend his “No to war” stance before European leaders

Eduardo González The Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, will invoke Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) this Thursday, which defines the bloc's fundamental values, to demand that his European counterparts end the war, return to diplomacy, and respect international law not only in Iran, but throughout the Middle East, with particular attention to Lebanon and Palestine. Sánchez will participate this Thursday in a European Council meeting in Brussels. The main topics of discussion will be the military escalation in the Middle East and the situation in Iran (including its consequences for the EU regarding energy prices and energy security), the situation in Ukraine (with particular attention to the twentieth package of sanctions against Russia and the €90 billion loan to Kyiv, both blocked by Hungary), and issues such as the EU's strategic competitiveness, the next multiannual financial framework, security and defense, and migration. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, is invited to a working lunch where the deteriorating international situation and how the EU and its partners can collaborate to defend multilateralism will be discussed. Inevitably, the Middle East conflict will dominate much of the discussion in Brussels. In his letter of invitation, the President of the European Council, António Costa, warned of the need to “identify the instruments we need to mobilize to guarantee a timely, coordinated, and effective response that protects our citizens and businesses, while we work towards de-escalation and stability in the region.” Pedro Sánchez made his position on the conflict very clear on March 4, when he announced, in an institutional statement, that the Government's position “can be summed up in four words: No to war,” echoing the slogan most used in the days leading up to the 2003 Iraq War, launched by then-US President George W. Bush, which received the full support of the Spanish government of José María Aznar (PP). According to sources at Moncloa Palace, Sánchez has already made his position crystal clear on several occasions regarding the role the EU should play in this conflict. This position boils down to the need to maintain European unity and to defend Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), which defines the “fundamental values” upon which the European Union is founded. These values are common to all member states and must serve as the basis for “all its policies and actions,” such as respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. In this regard, the Prime Minister will warn of the “inconsistency” of applying international law and the UN Charter in Ukraine but not in the Middle East. He will also insist on the need to avoid focusing solely on Iran and, therefore, to address the situations in Lebanon, Gaza, and the West Bank. Therefore, according to the aforementioned sources, Sánchez's main message to the Council will be the need to return to diplomacy and the negotiating table, especially after the statements made this Tuesday by António Costa in which he warned that the most urgent thing at the moment is to stop the war. Ukraine Regarding Ukraine, the same sources point out that neither Spain nor the European Union supports the United States' decision to lift sanctions on Russian petroleum products, supposedly to contain crude oil prices after Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. To advance their common position, European leaders will have to overcome the veto of Viktor Orbán's Hungarian government on the twentieth sanctions package (in fact, the Hungarian prime minister has presented his own sanctions proposal, which has been rejected by the other countries). Similarly, they will also have to circumvent Budapest's veto of the €90 billion loan to Ukraine, whose deadline for the first payment is at the end of April. Hungary has warned that it will maintain the veto until the Druzhba pipeline is reactivated. Its disruption affected oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia following the Russian airstrikes last January. Despite the European Union announcing an agreement with Ukraine on Tuesday to finance the repair of the oil pipeline, Orban has once again warned via social media that “without oil deliveries, there will be no money for Ukraine.” In this regard, according to the aforementioned sources at Moncloa Palace, Spain will insist in Brussels on the need to maintain the dual approach of sanctions against Russia and support for Ukraine, both from the European Union and bilaterally, and is confident that the first payment of the €90 billion loan will be made in time. US aid to Ukraine reached $127 billion in January 2025 (with the arrival of Donald Trump to the presidency), while the European Union has already reached €190 billion.

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