BARCELONA, Spain (AP) 鈥 French President Emmanuel Macron and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S谩nchez signed a friendship treaty in Barcelona on Thursday to strengthen relations between the European neighbors, as both leaders faced protests on their home fronts.
The one-day summit came amid a day of on the other side of the Pyrenees against Macron鈥檚 bid to increase the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64. S谩nchez, as host, had to endure a noisy rally by Catalan separatists near the meeting venue.
The Treaty of Barcelona signed by the leaders establishes working groups between their governments in a variety of areas. The leaders and several of their ministers discussed issues including energy, migration and support for Ukraine鈥檚 war effort 鈥 all in line with finding common cause in steering European Union policy.
鈥淲e are not just reinforcing our countries, we are reinforcing Europe,鈥 S谩nchez said, calling the treaty 鈥渉istoric.鈥
Both governments consider this a diplomatic bond of the highest order. Spain only has a similar treaty with Portugal; France has them with Germany and Italy.
鈥淲e are going to massively reinforce the bilateral relationship鈥 and make it even more efficient鈥 at the European level, Macron said. 鈥淭hat treaty is also going to strengthen these common views,鈥 especially regarding European sovereignty and strategic autonomy.
The agreement comes with Macron and S谩nchez seeking stronger positions inside the EU. Macron is profiling himself as the continent鈥檚 leading politician to fill the void of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, while the equally pro-EU S谩nchez wants Spain to have a more influential role in Brussels following Britain's exit from the bloc.
After years of cordial but sometimes distant relations, France and Spain have grown closer recently.
Spain, France and Portugal agreed late last year on a major from the Iberian Peninsula to France and eventually the rest of Europe. The energy pipeline, dubbed H2Med, will run from Barcelona to Marseille.
Macron and S谩nchez also both want the European energy market to be reformed to respond to the energy crisis provoked by Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine. Spain also hopes France could back its request that the EU extend the permission granted last year for Spain and Portugal to apply , a plan that could possibly serve as an inspiration for all of Europe.
鈥淏oth of our countries have presented our proposals (for energy market reforms), which I deem solid and detailed, and they both point in the same direction,鈥 S谩nchez said. 鈥淲e are going to work together so that the market is reformed in the coming months.鈥
The meeting was held in Catalonia鈥檚 香港六合彩挂牌资料 Art Museum set atop the Montjuic hill that overlooks Barcelona.
Several thousand Catalan separatists rallied along a wide promenade at the foot of the hill to try to energize to carve a new state out of this corner of northeast Spain that borders France.
The sound of distant jeers could be heard from afar as Macron and S谩nchez reviewed Spanish soldiers before the national anthems were played on arrival. North of Barcelona, protesters disrupted traffic on a highway. There was a brief scuffle between protestors and police in central Barcelona after the peaceful protest had dispersed. But the moments of tension were a far cry from the seen in years past.
S谩nchez has spent quite a bit of political capital in defusing the separatist movement, with bid and recent . While that has succeeded in reducing tensions in Catalonia, there is still a hardcore group that refuses to go away.
Catalonia鈥檚 regional chief Pere Aragon猫s greeted Macron and S谩nchez outside the museum but then broke protocol by leaving before the group photo and anthems.
鈥淭here has been an attempt (by S谩nchez) to use today鈥檚 summit to impose a false vision of the reality, to make it look like the political conflict between Catalonia and the Spanish state has been resolved,鈥 Aragon猫s said. 鈥淏ut nothing is farther from the truth.鈥
S谩nchez said he was grateful that Aragon猫s turned up and underscored the choice of Barcelona as his choice for the signing of the treaty.
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AP writer Sylvie Corbet contributed from Paris.
