by Sarantis Michalopoulos
Spain’s ruling Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), led by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, presents itself as a bastion of progressive, pro-European values in an increasingly conservative Europe. Yet its recent foreign policy choices expose a selective and, at times, inconsistent application of those ideals.
Sánchez has been vocal in calling for an EU-wide arms embargo on Israel, citing humanitarian concerns over the ongoing conflict in Gaza. While such a stance might appeal to his electorate, it raises serious questions about his supposed commitment to European solidarity – particularly when contrasted with his government’s inaction toward another ongoing occupation within the EU itself.
Since 1974, Turkey has illegally occupied approximately 36% of Cyprus, an EU member state. In addition, Ankara has maintained a casus belli against Greece – another EU member – since 1995, threatening war should Athens exercise its lawful right under international sea law to extend its territorial waters in the Aegean Sea.
Despite this long-standing aggression, Sánchez has shown little interest in pressing the EU – or his own government – to take similar action against Turkey.
When then-Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias sent letters to his counterparts in Germany, Italy, and Spain, urging them to halt arms exports to Turkey, Madrid effectively ignored the request. Instead, between 2020 and 2024, Spain became one of Ankara’s top three arms suppliers.
Even more striking was Sánchez’s public embrace of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, working to strengthen bilateral defence ties, a gesture that came shortly after Greece’s plea for solidarity.
This apparent double standard has not gone unnoticed. In 2020, Greek and Cypriot MEPs appealed to Spanish socialist MEP Nacho Sánchez Amor – the EU’s rapporteur on Turkey – to take a more cautious approach to Ankara’s EU support. But with little success.
Sánchez’s sharp rhetoric on Israel may win headlines, but it also invites scrutiny. Particularly when his government continues to provide military support to a country whose leader, Erdoğan, has referred to Hamas – a group designated by the EU as a terrorist organisation – as a “liberation movement”.
By contrast, even Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has distanced himself from Hamas, stating they will have no role in post-war Gaza and calling on militants to disarm.
If Sánchez wants to be remembered as a principled European leader, he must apply his values consistently – not just where it’s politically convenient.
*first published at Euractiv.com
By: N. Peter Kramer
