Relationship dossier
France
Spain
Relationship assessment
France and Spain have a close partnership grounded in sustained European, security and bilateral cooperation.
France toward Spain
+75The French government cooperates with Spain through EU and NATO institutions and recurring bilateral consultations. France and Spain have concluded agreements and coordinated on security, migration, transport and energy, while occasional disputes have concerned cross-border infrastructure and migration policy.
Spain toward France
+75The Spanish government cooperates with France through EU and NATO institutions and recurring bilateral consultations. Spain and France have concluded agreements and coordinated on security, migration, transport and energy, while occasional disputes have concerned cross-border infrastructure and migration policy.
Overall relationship
+75The relationship is anchored in sustained cooperation through EU and NATO frameworks and reinforced by bilateral agreements and regular high-level coordination. Practical collaboration spans security, migration, transport and energy. Disputes over infrastructure and migration are recurring but limited relative to the breadth of cooperation.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
France and Spain maintain a close, sustained partnership as EU and NATO members, with substantial cooperation on security, migration, transport and energy. The two governments have also developed recurring high-level coordination, including bilateral summits and agreements. Disagreements have arisen over issues such as cross-border energy infrastructure and migration, but they have not displaced broad institutional and practical cooperation.
Areas of tension
- Disagreements over cross-border energy interconnections and infrastructure, including proposals to expand connections across the Pyrenees.
- Differences over migration management and the handling of migrants at the French-Spanish border.
Key developments
France and Spain signed the Treaty of Barcelona, establishing a framework for enhanced bilateral cooperation.
The two governments held a bilateral summit in Barcelona and signed agreements covering cooperation in areas including migration, security and energy.
Major uncertainties
- The implementation and durability of specific bilateral energy and migration commitments may vary over time.
- The balance between cooperation and disagreement can shift with changes in government and European policy.