The Diplomat
The Congress yesterday authorized the Government to ratify the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Spain and Portugal, whose signing took place in Trujillo (Cáceres) on October 28, 2021, by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa, on the occasion of the celebration of the XXXII Spanish-Portuguese Bilateral Summit.
The authorization requested by the Government for the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between the Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese Republic, by which the cooperation between both countries in different matters and areas such as the environment, energy, connectivity, economy, among others, has been validated by the Lower House by 271 votes in favor, one against and 73 abstentions.
The text, which renews the previous treaty of 1977, defines the instruments of political cooperation and the structures of consultation and cooperation that structure bilateral relations and includes, for the first time in an international agreement, the holding of annual bilateral summits chaired by the heads of government, as well as the establishment of a body to monitor the commitments made at the summits. It also provides for annual meetings of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense, parliamentary cooperation and the promotion of structured mechanisms for dialogue between the two civil societies and social partners.
The agreement also specifies that cross-border cooperation is “one of the fundamental axes of the bilateral relationship” and that, for this reason, the two governments undertake to “give continuity to the existing tools and to promote joint strategies” in this area. In addition, it examines the areas of cooperation in areas such as languages, education and culture; environment, connectivity, energy, science and technology, economy, justice, home affairs and civil protection, public health, labor, employment and social policy and outermost regions.
