Spanish parliament rejects proposal for new referendum on NATO membership

Spain’s parliament on Wednesday rejected a proposal by the far-left opposition party Podemos to hold a new referendum on the country’s NATO membership.

Podemos had called for the issue to be put to a public vote again, as was done in 1986, marking the 40th anniversary of Spain’s NATO membership on March 12, but failed to secure support.

The proposal for “holding a referendum on the continuation of Spain’s NATO membership” was voted down by the ruling coalition’s main partner, the Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), as well as opposition parties including the Popular Party (PP), far-right Vox, the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), and Junts for Catalonia.

The junior coalition partner Sumar abstained, while only the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) and the Basque alliance Bildu supported the initiative alongside Podemos.

In its proposal, Podemos, which advocates for Spain’s withdrawal from NATO and the closure of military bases, argued that “only 21% of the population in Spain supports NATO membership under current conditions, and all those under the age of 58 do not consider remaining in NATO to be the right decision.”

Podemos leader Ione Belarra accused US President Donald Trump, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen of “warmongering and running arms campaigns.”

She claimed that “the US now sees NATO merely as a tool to impose its orders by treating allies as simple customers, reinforced by commitments from member states to purchase more natural gas and weapons.”

Belarra said the proposal aimed to “rebuild a foreign policy based on peace, international law, and cooperation among peoples, restore Spain’s full sovereignty in international relations, and place the democratic will of citizens back at the center of decisions on war and peace.”

She also accused Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of acting contrary to his “No to war” slogan.