The 36th Portuguese-Spanish Summit, scheduled for February, was postponed for a month due to the railway tragedies in Spain and will take place tomorrow at a time of particular political importance. The Portuguese delegation travels to Spain after a military attack by the United States of America on Iran, which began last Saturday on orders from Donald Trump.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez made his opposition clear, condemning the intervention, even considering that the War in Iraq in 2003 made the world “more insecure.”
This led Donald Trump to move forward with the idea of canceling trade agreements with Spain. A measure that will have difficulty moving forward, since Spain is a member state of the European Union and, as such, responds to a global economic and customs policy. At issue is the fact that Sánchez refused the US the use of the Rota and Morón military bases.
Criticism of Trump’s actions was not dominant in Europe. Sánchez was the most vocal in opposition, and Luís Montenegro, in Wednesday’s fortnightly debate, made it clear that there are differences of thought – the prime minister had to respond to various criticisms regarding the use of the Lajes Base by the North American army.
“I want to say that, having had this military action, Portugal did not follow, did not subscribe and was not involved. But there is an extensive bilateral relationship in Security and Defense [EUA] from one country, another [Irão] has an ongoing nuclear program with long-range ballistic missiles. Portugal has a much closer relationship with our ally”he highlighted in response to José Luís Carneiro’s first intervention, reacting to the socialist when he spoke of “friendly countries”, mentioning the United Kingdom and Spain, which have presented public positions critical of Donald Trump.
“We want the best for the Portuguese, for the strategic interest, for the Defense of our country”, he said, remembering that “Portugal was one of the founders of NATO and that Spain only joined in 1982”, continued Montenegro. This was, in fact, the only moment in which he deviated from the guarantee of “not wanting to comment on the positions of other States”.
Pedro Sánchez therefore did not receive words of solidarity from the Portuguese Government and it is in this context that the meeting takes place, expecting, of course, questions and speeches in this context.
In Andalusia, more specifically in Huelva, Luís Montenegro will be received at the Monastery of La Rábida, where due military honors will be given. The meeting between Montenegro and Sánchez precedes a trip to the International University of Andalusia, where bilateral agreements will be signed, followed by a joint conference.
In the entourage, Luís Montenegro will be accompanied by seven ministers: Foreign Affairs, Economy and Territorial Cohesion, Internal Administration, Health, Labor, Solidarity and Social Security, State Reform and Environment and Energy. There will be no representation of Nuno Melo, from Defense, which presupposes that the Lajes theme, under Paulo Rangel’s responsibility, dominates attention in this chapter. Issues relating to repatriation should also be on the table.
From what was possible to know, there will be dialogues regarding partnerships in healthcare, especially border ones, with Ana Paula Martins. In the same sense, there must be space for dialogues regarding mobility and community, Iberian and regional support, which link Castro Almeida’s Economy with State Reform.
In view of the Spanish regional division, Gonçalo Matias will listen to advice from Regionalization itself. The focus will be on the decentralization of skills and the joint determination for partnerships between Minho and Galicia, as well as high-speed rail connections – namely between Porto and Vigo. Within this topic, requests from Braga and Bragança for the arrival of high speed to Spain should also be addressed.
Even taking into account the bad weather that hit Portugal, energy autonomy and water reserves will have an interlocutor in Maria da Graça Carvalho. Luís Neves should have a say in the joint response on Civil Protection and cross-border controls. A relevant mission in what will be his first trip as minister.
In anticipation of the meeting, the Portuguese Executive presented the Summit “as a strategic moment to boost, at the highest level, the action of Portugal and Spain to reinforce adaptation to climate change and, simultaneously, the competitiveness and sustainability of both economies”.
The Spanish Government, in turn, highlighted “the importance” of this summit, due to the “very relevant topic” that will be in focus: “the impacts of climate change”, which are “a scientific, geographic and shared reality” by Portugal and Spain.
The two countries, recalled Spanish executive sources, last year they accumulated half of the hectares burned in fires in the European Union and have also been hit by storms that caused hundreds of deaths and millions of euros in damage.
In Spain, in October 2024, 230 people died in floods in Valencia. This year, 18 citizens have died in Portugal. Thousands of people were displaced in both countries due to successive storms and floods.
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