Albares and Miliband commit to “leading the green transition” after the “heat wave and severe wildfires in Europe”

Eduardo González Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares received the new UK Foreign Secretary, Ed Miliband, in Madrid on Wednesday, July 29. They signed two agreements on gender equality and combating climate change and discussed the recent signing and provisional implementation of the Treaty between the UK and the EU on Gibraltar. At the end of the meeting, both ministers adopted a joint declaration warning of “the need to jointly lead the green transition” at “a time when Europe is facing record heat waves and severe wildfires as a consequence of the climate crisis.” “I want to thank Ed Miliband, the new UK Foreign Secretary, for choosing Paris and Madrid for his first trip to the European Union,” Albares stated before the bilateral meeting, held at the Ministry headquarters in the Palacio de Viana. According to the minister, the “bilateral relationship is at an absolutely extraordinary moment” thanks to the bilateral strategic mechanism adopted last year and the signing, on July 14, of “that historic agreement regarding Gibraltar, which also opens a new chapter of shared future, and in fact, we are going to continue moving forward today.” Neither Albares nor Miliband offered further details. “We are going to sign two agreements, one on gender equality, to work together on an issue, feminist foreign policy, which is truly important for both of us,” Albares continued. “And at this time, when we have these terrible fires in Spain and other countries, as well as in France and southern Europe, we are going to sign an agreement so that our foreign policies advance together in the fight against climate change,” he added. Separately, Albares announced that both ministers would also address, “as allies and close partners,” the situation in Ukraine, the search for peace in the Middle East, and respect for international law in the Strait of Hormuz. The minister also noted that the United Kingdom is the main destination for Spanish exports outside the European Union, the second largest recipient of Spanish investment, the fourth largest investor in Spain, and the leading source of tourism to the country. “Last year, 19 million British tourists visited, and I am certain that millions more will return to Spain this summer,” he added. He also highlighted that the Spanish communities in the United Kingdom and the British communities in Spain “total one million citizens” and that Spain is home to “the largest British community in the entire European Union and the second largest in the world.” Miliband For his part, Miliband stated that the objective of choosing Spain for one of his first visits as Foreign Secretary is “to symbolize the incredible importance we attach to the partnership between our two countries and our two progressive governments.” He also affirmed that the wildfires affecting Spain and France “demonstrate that climate change is a national security emergency for Europe” and assured that both governments will “work together” to address this problem. Furthermore, Miliband thanked Albares for his “personal leadership in the Treaty of Gibraltar” and expressed his “willingness” to strengthen bilateral cooperation in areas such as “defense and security, gender equality and the rights and empowerment of women and girls, as well as the climate crisis.” Ed Miliband, appointed on July 20 by the new British Prime Minister, Labour's Andy Burnham, led the Labour Party from September 25, 2010, until his resignation on May 8, 2015, following their defeat in the 2015 general election. He is the brother of David Miliband, who also served as Foreign Secretary between June 2007 and June 2010. He replaces Yvette Cooper, who has been appointed Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. Gibraltar On Tuesday, Ed Miliband spoke with Gibraltar's Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, to discuss "how matters relating to Gibraltar will be handled going forward," according to the Gibraltarian government. “The Chief Minister was also able to raise issues relevant to the implementation of the Treaty, ahead of the meeting that the British Foreign Secretary will hold tomorrow in Madrid with the Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares,” the statement continued. During the meeting, according to the same source, Miliband “was very clear in his commitment to the exclusively British sovereignty of Gibraltar.” On July 14, the Vice-President of the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič, and the British Minister of State for Europe, North America and the UK Overseas Territories, Stephen Doughty, signed the Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom on Gibraltar, in the presence of Fabian Picardo and José Manuel Albares. The Agreement entered into provisional application at 00:00 the following day. On July 15, the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, presided over the demolition of the border fence in La Línea de la Concepción. The Treaty, adopted on June 11, 2025, after nearly four years of negotiations, marked by periods of progress and stagnation, envisions the removal of the border fence, the last wall on the European continent, and establishes that there will be no passport controls between the two territories. Spain will assume responsibility for Schengen controls at Gibraltar's airport and port, and Spanish authorities will have the final say on the issuance and renewal of residence permits. Following the signing, Albares declared that Spain's sovereignty claims remain "absolutely unchanged, but, moreover, absolutely safeguarded." Joint Declaration At the end of the meeting, Albares and Miliband adopted a joint declaration warning that “Europe is facing record heat waves and severe wildfires as a consequence of the climate crisis” and asserting that “this summer’s wildfires have demonstrated that climate change is now a national security emergency that Europe is facing and that threatens our way of life.” Therefore, they agree that “addressing the climate crisis is an urgent political priority for all countries” and is “essential to protect not only current generations, but also our children and grandchildren,” and they concur “on the need to jointly lead the green transition, convinced that decarbonization, energy security, environmental protection, and resilience are inseparable from our security and the prosperity and competitiveness of our economies.” They also warn that “climate change is a global problem that must be addressed through effective multilateralism and respect for international law,” and in this regard, “they reaffirm their support for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and express the need to work towards fulfilling the international commitments contained in the Paris Agreement, emphasizing in particular the urgency of accelerating global efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5° Celsius above pre-industrial levels.” Albares and Miliband also recall “the importance of scientific evidence and acknowledge the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in this regard,” and insist on “the relevance of adopting the necessary measures to drastically reduce dependence on fossil fuels, strengthen cooperation on clean energy, and support countries in the Global South in their energy transition.” In this respect, both parties “reaffirm the importance of international solidarity in the fight against climate change, highlighting the need to address the disproportionate effects that climate change has on developing countries” and, to this end, warn of the need to “mobilize sustainable financing commensurate with the challenge we face, enabling a timely transition to decarbonized and resilient economies.” In this regard, the two ministers agree on "the importance of promoting investment frameworks that facilitate sustainable financing, innovation and competitiveness, and recognize the key role of international financial institutions and multilateral development banks in channeling investment and supporting measures to combat climate change."

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