Macron, Sanchez Hail Burnham's Plan to Rejoin EU
“Welcome back. If the British want to come back ... I think that is very good news, both for his country and for Europeans,” Macron said at a joint news conference with Sanchez in Madrid.
The French leader called the move “a good decision,” and said Burnham was right to “have that boldness.” He pledged European backing: “In any case, we will be there to try to make things work,” he added.
Macron also addressed the large influx of migrants into Ceuta, Spain's territory in North Africa, in late July. He said Madrid did not orchestrate the crossing and was instead a “victim of an attack,” and argued that the episode demanded solidarity from Europe's other governments.
“I am surprised that many Europeans did not show this solidarity, even though they had benefited from it when they had faced the same events,” Macron said.
He called for tighter security coordination and cooperation across the bloc. “We must continue improving our coordination among European countries and within the European Union, particularly within the Schengen area, so that we can collectively improve,” Macron said.
For his part, Sanchez described Brexit as a “huge loss of the British people and the European project as a whole,” and said Spain would receive Britain “with open arms” should it seek to rejoin.
According to broadcaster Cadena Ser, Sanchez also apologized to Macron over the Spanish Senate's rejection of the friendship treaty with France.
The Spanish leader warned of a rising current that seeks to “make Europeans renounce our democratic values and social cohesion” and to turn Europe into a bloc “divided, at odds with each other, and dependent on foreign interests.” He urged deeper European unity and stronger solidarity.
Sanchez said Madrid and Paris share a common outlook on the Middle East, including the war in Iran and the war in the Gaza Strip, as well as on Ukraine. He reaffirmed both countries' commitment to international law and the multilateral order “faced with the law of the strongest and the allure of authoritarianism.”
“This is the task we share, the responsibility we renew today, and this is why the friendship between France and Spain will always remain one of Europe’s greatest strengths,” he added.
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