EU responds sharply to Trump's threats against Spain: We will provide a strong and swift response

A spokesperson for the European Commission stated that if the threats made by US President Donald Trump against Spain—following Spain's reaction to attacks on Iran—were to materialize, the EU would "consider this a very serious escalation" and would provide a strong and swift response.

The spokesperson said, "Generally speaking, you know that we in the EU Commission press room are sometimes a bit disappointed when we see how effectively President Trump sets the agenda."

Stating that as the EU Commission they "always choose to remain calm and not react to every threat," the spokesperson continued:

"Trump has made such threats before. In February, he was threatening to target any country that deployed troops in Greenland. At that moment, you clearly saw that the EU countries and EU institutions speaking with one voice was very effective in forcing him to back down. In this case as well, regarding Spain, everything so far is just a threat. At the moment, we have no real reason to believe that this will be anything more than a threat."

The spokesperson noted that if a threat such as imposing additional customs duties on Spanish imports to the US were to be realized, they would "consider this a very serious escalation," adding, "I think we would see a strong and swift response from the EU. I cannot say exactly what that would be, but we have strong tools. Our preference is not to have to use them, but we will use them if necessary."

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had harshly criticized the attacks on Iran by the US and Israel, stating that they were contrary to international law and that he would not allow the use of Spanish bases. In response, President Trump had threatened to cut off all trade relations with Spain.