🏛️ Spain protests exclusion from EU pre-summit meeting

Oneliner

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has protested his exclusion from a pre-summit meeting organized by Italy and Germany, attended by 19 other EU leaders. He criticized the format, arguing it undermines EU principles of inclusivity. The meeting focused on economic competitiveness and regulatory simplification, highlighting Spain's diminishing influence in EU decision-making. Sánchez's absence raises concerns about the implications of exclusive gatherings on EU cohesion and the need for more collaborative frameworks.

Key points

• Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was excluded from a key pre-summit meeting organized by Italy and Germany.
• Sánchez criticized the meeting format, arguing it undermines EU principles of inclusivity.
• The absence highlights Spain's diminishing influence in EU decision-making processes.
• The meeting focused on economic competitiveness, regulatory simplification, and energy prices.

Links

• El Mundo: Sánchez se queda fuera de la reunión clave que Alemania e Italia han impulsado antes de la cumbre de mañana: el único líder de un gran país que no acude
• El Mundo: La reunión clave para la UE de la que se ha caído Sánchez: 19 países, todos los grandes menos España y "relanzamiento de las relaciones" Alemania-Italia
• El Mundo: España critica la cumbre clave de líderes europeos a la que no fue invitada antes de la reunión de los 27
• Europa Press: España traslada su malestar a Italia por convocar una reunión previa a la cumbre que "mina" los principios de la UE
• El País: Sánchez choca con Meloni por convocar una reunión previa a la cumbre de la UE
• 20minutos: Sánchez se aparta de la 'precumbre' organizada por Meloni y Merz a la que sí han acudido los grandes países europeos
• elDiario: España critica la reunión económica previa organizada por Italia, Bélgica y Alemania por minar los principios básicos de la UE
• EFE: España se queja ante Italia por convocar una reunión de líderes previa a la cumbre a la que Sánchez no fue invitado - EFE
• ABC: Sánchez reprocha a Meloni que organice una reunión de líderes a la que no fue invitado

Facts

• The pre-summit meeting was attended by 19 EU leaders, excluding Spain.
• Key topics included regulatory simplification and energy prices.
• Sánchez's government has formally expressed discontent to Italy regarding the meeting format.
• The next informal meeting is scheduled for March before the European leaders' summit.

Quotes

• These initiatives undermine the EU's basic principles and push solutions further away — Pedro Sánchez
• The EU must choose: if its strategy is to open itself to free trade agreements, it must also accept that it cannot over-regulate — Giorgia Meloni

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