Relationship dossier
Malta
Spain
Relationship assessment
Cooperation shaped largely by shared EU membership and Mediterranean policy
Malta toward Spain
+35Malta engages Spain through EU institutions and common EU policies, including on Mediterranean migration and asylum matters. The breadth of direct Maltese government initiatives toward Spain beyond these frameworks is unclear.
Spain toward Malta
+35Spain engages Malta through EU institutions and common EU policies, and has supported Malta's position on Mediterranean migration and asylum issues within the EU. The scope of direct Spanish government cooperation beyond these frameworks is unclear.
Overall relationship
+35The relationship is underpinned by shared EU membership and cooperation on Mediterranean issues, including migration and asylum policy. These durable multilateral frameworks support a cooperative assessment, while the extent of a distinct bilateral partnership is less clear.
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
Malta and Spain cooperate as EU member states, including through shared EU institutions and policies. Spain has also supported Malta's position on Mediterranean migration and asylum issues within the EU. The relationship is generally cooperative, although these shared frameworks do not by themselves establish a close bilateral partnership, and details of sustained, direct government cooperation are limited.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of direct Malta–Spain bilateral agreements are unclear.
- The extent of sustained cooperation outside EU and Mediterranean policy frameworks is uncertain.