Pedro Sánchez defends Spain's 'coherent and consistent' position on the war in Iran

The head of the Executive affirms that the Government's capacity to respond to very serious crises has been demonstrated in recent years and assures that it will protect citizens from the consequences of the conflict with measures agreed upon with all parliamentary groups.

Lower House of Parliament, Madrid

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, during his speech in the Government control session in the Lower House of Parliament (Pool Congreso)

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, defended Spain's position on the "very serious crisis" triggered by the war in Iran during the control session in the Lower House of Parliament, where he described the Government's stance on the conflict as "coherent and consistent."

"The Government is where it has always been: in defence of international law, peace, and the 'no to war' stance, in defence of the multilateralism of the United Nations," the president declared in his response to Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the Popular Parliamentary Group. He also emphasised that measures to protect citizens from the socio-economic consequences of war will be adopted at the next extraordinary Council of Ministers meeting.

"This Government has always done this: during the DANA storm; during the pandemic; during Putin's war in Ukraine and the energy crisis; also during the trade war launched by Trump against the European Union; and, of course, during the war in Iran. What we are going to do is protect citizens," Pedro Sánchez stressed, citing as examples of this same policy the implementation of furlough schemes (ERTEs), the 'Iberian solution,' and the loan guarantees for SMEs during the trade war.

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, together with the First Vice.President, María Jesús Montero| Pool Congreso

Negotiations with parliamentary groups

In response to Maribel Vaquero, of the Basque Parliamentary Group (EAJ-PNV), who questioned the President of the Government of Spain about the support he will seek from the other parliamentary groups before proposing measures to address the effects of the war, Pedro Sánchez indicated that they are a "Government of dialogue" and that they will work to reach agreements before the extraordinary Council of Ministers meeting.

The President of the Government of Spain also stated that he hopes these agreements will be reached "because of the responsibility we all share regarding the response to the socio-economic consequences" of the conflict.

Finally, Pedro Sánchez addressed the question of what Spain's position will be at the European Council meeting to be held on 19 March in Brussels. "Throughout all these years, we have been predictable in our foreign policy," added the president, who indicated that his stance will be "the defence of the principles and values enshrined in the European Union treaties."

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, speaks in the plenary session of the Lower House of Parliament during the question period| Pool Congreso

Short-term measures and energy policy

Regarding actions to mitigate the economic consequences of the war in Iran, the president emphasised that the Government "will not only focus on what's urgent," but will also "work on what is important," such as continuing the "energy transition" and strengthening the deployment of renewable energies, with the aim of increasing the strategic autonomy and resilience of the Spanish economy.

Pedro Sánchez also clarified, in response to Ione Belarra, a member of the Mixed Parliamentary Group, that the Government's action is structured around two main pillars: on the one hand, the adoption of short-term measures to protect the self-employed, small and medium-sized enterprises, workers, and households; and, on the other hand, the continuation of a consistent energy policy. In this regard, he stressed that "60% of electricity today comes from renewable energies, and thanks to this, the Iberian Peninsula is less vulnerable to the volatility of gas prices."

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