Spain’s Senate rejected a friendship and cooperation treaty with France on Tuesday, the first day of French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to Madrid, Spanish public broadcaster RTVE reported.
The agreement, previously approved by the lower house, received 106 votes in favor, 142 against, with one abstention in the Senate, where the opposition People’s Party (PP) holds an absolute majority.
Signed by Macron and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Barcelona in January 2023, the treaty was intended to deepen cooperation and provide a framework for regular consultations between the two governments.
The PP had challenged a provision allowing a minister from either country to attend the other’s Council of Ministers. The governments later clarified that the participation would take place at ad hoc meetings rather than formal Cabinet deliberations. Spain’s Constitutional Court ruled last week that the provision did not conflict with the Constitution.
Earlier Tuesday, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia welcomed Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, with military honors at the Royal Palace in Madrid.
Macron is scheduled to meet Sanchez on Wednesday. The two leaders are expected to discuss relations during the visit, which is the first state visit to Spain by a French president since 2009.
