2026, change and opportunity

In international relations, the world order that has undergone a process of transformation for more than a decade now seems to be shifting to a stage of stabilization. For the major powers and strategic actors, the opportunity to take advantage of this change does not lie in adapting to the processes of transformation, but in having the opportunity to take sides in this phase of stabilization. It is not a question of the world remaining as it is (conflicts, organized crime, polarization, imbalances, instability). Rather, a period has begun to reconfigure it and define what it will be like (security, freedoms, technology, resources, coexistence).

2026 marks the 40th anniversary of Spain's entry into the European Communities. In 1986, constitutional Spain entered the geo-economic space that has allowed us not only to grow as a democratic society, but also to contribute to the construction of a geopolitical space of independent nations, united in a regulated market and in a project of free and supportive coexistence.

The process of transformation of the world order has relegated Europe to a position of lesser international importance and Spain to a back seat in this framework, which today needs the energy and vision of our country's companies and institutions to revitalize the European Union.

In 2026, it will be 44 years since Spanish society endorsed the commitment to shared Euro-Atlantic security with the main democracies of the Western Hemisphere, and in collaboration with other democratic powers to strengthen global security.

NATO remains the framework for defense guaranteed by the reliability of our armed forces and the common commitment of our allies. The process of transforming the world order now requires a greater effort to ensure a way of life based on economic and educational progress and on values based on the rule of law and freedoms, which have enabled us to advance in all social and cultural spheres.

Despite its political and institutional weakening, Europe continues to carry weight in a world that has outgrown the European existential project itself. And it does so because it has remained united in its market and in its Euro-Atlantic security. Spain must find a way to continue contributing to this progress and to turn this geopolitical framework into a model for other regions with different levels of political and social development. Depolarising Euro-Atlantic democracies is an essential challenge for strengthening internal cohesion and building a coherent national and European strategy adapted to the risks of the coming years.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of relations between Spain and Israel. These are prosperous relations based on historical and cultural mutual understanding between two democratic states that share values and visions, opposed to barbarism and terrorism, and united in the idea of coexisting in accordance with respect for minorities and within the international order.

This shared vision prompted Spanish foreign and diplomatic policy to promote the Madrid Summit in 1991, which welcomed the main leaders of the Middle East and opened the door to the Oslo Accords, where the Palestinian National Authority was recognized. In 2026, Spain cannot, for ideological reasons, renounce promoting rapprochement between representatives of a Palestinian people mired in despair, who are opposed to the use of violence, and those of the State of Israel, legitimately elected by a free and pluralistic society such as Israel's, ravaged by the pressure of murderous and criminal forces.

The opportunity to assume the role of a strategic actor and a power places Spain and Europe at the center of a new order where geoeconomics, technology, and entrepreneurial dynamism will be instruments of stabilization and progress and not necessarily of confrontation and rivalry.

The management of the order of powers in an open and diverse world needs a European pillar, and the European Union of today needs a Spanish pillar in its Euro-Atlantic, Mediterranean, and South Atlantic security. Firm in its convictions, open to a multipolar world with different actors and interests, and also multilateral and diplomatically efficient in projecting its values. With a realistic and, why not, transactional foreign policy. Serving as a bridge between cultures and never as a wall against any of them. And, in any case, aware of its commitments to its partners and allies.