Spain's Albares says "fundamental rights" at stake in snap election

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares described the Nov. 29 snap parliamentary election as a contest between a "progressive majority" and right-wing forces that he said want to strip away people's fundamental rights. In an interview with Euronews at the Warsaw Security Forum, he also suggested foreign interference aimed to "divide and weaken Europeans." Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the election after his housing decrees were defeated in parliament.

Ahead of the EU summit, Albares backed using frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine, an idea Brussels shelved in 2025. Euronews reported the summit's migration debate could pit Sánchez against a majority led by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. After the Ceuta border crisis, Italy introduced checks on its border with Spain, and Madrid retaliated.