Spain urges Europe to take active role amid global crises

(MENAFN) Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares urged the European Union on Monday to move beyond rhetoric and take concrete steps in response to mounting global instability.

“Europe has to stop talking and start acting,” Albares said during remarks at the Ateneo de Madrid cultural center. He emphasized that “Our economic weight has to be transformed into political weight,” stressing that Spain cannot tackle international challenges alone and that collective European initiatives are essential. He noted ongoing discussions with partners about forming flexible coalitions of willing states.

Turning to Greenland, Albares insisted that “The pressure on Greenland has to end,” arguing that decisions about the island’s future rest with Denmark and its people. He added that NATO could reinforce security there if genuine threats were identified, but cautioned against indulging in “political fiction,” rejecting the idea that the U.S. might intervene in Greenland as it did in Venezuela.

On Iran, Albares called for an end to violence against protesters while warning against foreign military involvement. “Iran does not need any kind of external force,” he said, adding that outside intervention would only bring “more chaos.” He described Iran as “one of those points where the world order is being transformed. At this moment, everything is connected, absolutely everything.”

Albares also reiterated Spain’s condemnation of U.S. actions in Venezuela, underscoring Madrid’s opposition to external interference in sovereign nations.

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