Pedro Sánchez is “absolutely” in favour of the UK rejoining the EU and the reversal of Brexit, the Spanish Prime Minister said during a recent interview with the New Statesman magazine.
“We miss the UK within the European Union. I think there is a clear need to have the UK on board again, especially nowadays,” Sánchez told the London-based publication.
The Spanish premier explained that both he and British PM Keir Starmer have a “clear need” to learn from one another and described the post-Brexit Gibraltar agreement as “an obstacle to break through”.
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Back in September of last year, during a bilateral summit, both leaders emphasised the need for a deeper connection between the two countries, reflecting Spain’s desire to maintain constructive relations with the UK after Brexit.
Sánchez stressed that beyond the Gibraltar agreement, he has an interest in strengthening relations with London and supporting the UK’s possible return to the European Union.
According to recent polls in both the UK and Spain, this idea has support in both countries.
Back in June, the EU announced that it had finally come to an agreement with the UK, Spain and Gibraltar, some five years after the UK formally left the bloc.
Then in December, the two countries took another step forward towards finalising the EU’s post-Brexit relationship with Gibraltar.
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Gibraltar described these negotiations as “positive”. “We remain committed to transparency. The final treaty will be made public and will be subject to full scrutiny by the parliaments of Gibraltar, the United Kingdom and the EU as part of the ratification process,” a Gibraltar government spokesman told the local press in late 2025.
An EU spokesperson emphasised that the main objective of the future agreement is to “guarantee prosperity” for the entire region and that this will be achieved by “removing all physical barriers” to the free movement of people and goods between Spain and Gibraltar, “while preserving the borderless Schengen area, the Single Market and the Customs Union”.
READ ALSO: EU, UK and Spain agree next step for Gibraltar’s Brexit treaty
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Now, a couple of months on, the New Statesman has dubbed Sánchez “Europe’s left-wing icon” for his stance not only on Gibraltar and Brexit, but for his opposition to the policies of US President Donald Trump, position on Gaza and actions within Spain.
Sánchez has refused Trump’s demand that all Nato countries up their defence spending to five percent of GDP saying that it could “wipe out” the recent progress of the Spanish economy.
Sánchez suggested that a better approach would be to think about capabilities within a particular year. “Two percent of total defence spending, or 3 percent one year, 1 percent another. But not 5 percent every year,” he explained to the magazine.
“Sometimes it’s wiser to spend more money on cooperation aid or strengthening multilateralism… than to just buy weapons from the American defence industry,” he added.
Sánchez has also been outspoken on the Gaza issue, using the word “genocide” to describe what has been happening there.
Spain recognised Palestinian as a state in 2024 and has refused to join Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ because it bypasses the United Nations and Gaza itself hasn’t had much input into the plan.
