In Spain, the Iranian crisis was called a defining moment for Europe's strategic autonomy.
Points of attention
- Spain emphasizes the need for the EU to establish its own army in order to ensure strategic autonomy and independence from other countries, especially amid unpredictable US foreign policy.
- The Iranian crisis has served as a pivotal moment for Europe, prompting calls for Spain to enhance its security through the creation of its own armed forces.
Albarez calls on the EU to create its own army
The European Union should create its own armed forces so that adversaries like Russia have no doubts about whether the United States will come to their aid, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Álvarez said.
We can't wake up every morning wondering what the United States will do next. Our citizens deserve better.
Albarez also called the Iranian crisis a defining moment for Europe's strategic autonomy.
This is a moment of sovereignty and independence for Europe. The Americans are inviting us to this. We must be free from dependence. To be free from dependence means to be free from coercion, whether it is tariffs or the threat of war. And to be free from the consequences of other people's decisions.
Politico recalled that Madrid denied American military aircraft access to its air bases to wage war, to which the US responded by threatening Spain with a trade embargo, troop withdrawal, and even expulsion from NATO.
We need armed forces, a common defense capability. The United States is making its military stronger and stronger, and no one thinks that this weakens NATO. If NATO no longer provides the security it used to provide… [then] we Europeans have to do more,” Albarez stressed, adding that this should not be seen as an attempt to undermine NATO.
According to him, the "magic" of NATO is that when a country is in the alliance, nothing happens, because no one dares to check whether Article 5 will really work.
That's what we need to recreate — deterrence. So that if anyone wants to pick on me, they can go somewhere else. Because we will stand together.
The diplomat added that Spain believes in transatlantic relations, and for him the US is a "historical natural ally of Europeans."
We need the support of both Europeans and Americans. And we need to accept that the Trump administration has a new vision and new ideas for transatlantic relations.
