Spanish PM ‘absolutely’ supports UK rejoining the EU

Amelia Jones 

The Spanish prime minister has expressed strong support for the idea of the UK rejoining the European Union (EU).

Pedro Sánchez, who has held office since June 2018, has voiced strong support for the UK potentially rejoining, saying that Spain misses the UK in the EU.

Speaking to The New Statesman, the PM said he is keen to form a deeper partnership between the two major European nations, both led by social democratic governments.

Sir Keir Starmer hosted the Spanish prime minister in a bilateral summit to sign a post-Brexit deal over Gibraltar in September last year. The leaders discussed enhancing cooperation and taking bilateral relations to a new level.

It was the first bilateral to be held in either capital for seven years. The leaders discussed the opportunity between the two countries to take the relationship to the next level.

When asked about whether he supported the UK rejoining the EU, he said: “Absolutely. We miss the UK within the European Union.

“I think there is a clear need to have the UK on board again, especially nowadays.”

Recently, Starmer highlighted the growing public appetite for closer EU alignment.

Recent polls indicate a significant shift in sentiment over the past decade, with fewer than 30% of the public still supporting Brexit.

In a speech last month, he said: We need to shoot down this idea that slogans and easy answers will fix the country.

“Johnson pretended to drive a bulldozer through a wall saying that would get us £350m a week for the NHS.

“It didn’t happen. Farage pretended that leaving the EU would reduce immigration. The opposite happened.”

In Wales, Plaid Cymru continues to call for stronger ties with the EU, promoting policies that would see Wales benefit from closer cooperation and alignment with European political and economic frameworks.

Over the summer, Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorweth met with the European Union’s Ambassador to the UK, Pedro Serrano.

After the meeting, he said: “Brexit has caused deep damage to Wales’s economy, and unless the structural barriers to trade and investment are removed, the UK Government’s growth ambitions will remain unrealised.”

“Rejoining the Single Market and Customs Union is the most effective way to reverse this damage. This is about giving Welsh businesses, farmers and young people the opportunities they deserve.”