PP and the far-right Vox again block the Treaty of Friendship with France in the Senate despite the Constitutional Court's endorsement

The absolute majority of the Partido Popular in the Senate rejected this Tuesday, in the plenary session, the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Spain and France, despite the fact that last week the Constitutional Court ruled that the text is not contrary to the Constitution. With this vote, the Upper House has prevented the completion of the ratification process of an agreement that had been pending for more than a year, and which the Élysée expected to be approved as soon as possible.

The treaty was signed by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the French President, Emmanuel Macron, at the last bilateral summit held in January 2023 in Barcelona. The text was blocked for months after the PP appealed it before the Constitutional Court due to the section that foresees a French minister being able to participate in the Council of Ministers of the Spanish Government.

An agreement marked by legal controversy

That same reason caused the initial rejection of the Congress in May 2025, although finally last April the two Foreign Ministers reached an agreement on the interpretation of that article, clarifying that the participation would take place in a meeting of ministers, appointed to address this specific situation, and not in the Council of Ministers.

Following that clarification, the Lower House gave the green light to the text in June and the Constitutional Court later rejected the appeal filed by the Senate, at the initiative of the PP. Even so, the popular party voted against it in this Tuesday's Plenary Session, coinciding also with the start of Emmanuel Macron's state visit to Spain, during which the French president will meet with King Felipe VI and Pedro Sánchez.

The defense of the blockade by PP and Vox in the Upper House

The person in charge of defending the PP's position was Senator Pilar Rojo, who made it clear that her vote "does not question at all the strategic importance of France as a neighbor, ally, and European partner". Rojo defended that relations between both countries must be based on "collaboration, mutual respect, trust, and the reciprocal defense of common interests", beyond a specific treaty.

A position far from the far-right Vox, which chose to reject the agreement with arguments focused on its opposition to Pedro Sánchez and Emmanuel Macron. Its senator Ángel Pelayo Gordillo described both leaders as "absolutely for the scrap heap" and defined the treaty as "old and inappropriate", in addition to linking it with the "Agenda 2030".

The rejection in the Senate does not put an end to the treaty. The Government plans to take it back to Congress to complete its ratification, after the Lower House already approved it and the Constitutional Court concluded that the agreement is not contrary to the Constitution. Thus, the vote of PP and Vox in the Upper House leaves pending a cooperation agreement with France that already has the support of Congress and the endorsement of the highest interpreter of the Constitution, while Macron faces a state visit in Madrid conceived precisely to strengthen ties between both countries.