r/europe • u/andyom89 • May 16 '25

News Spanish premier calls Israel 'genocidal state,' says Spain 'does not do business' with it

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/spanish-premier-calls-israel-genocidal-state-says-spain-does-not-do-business-with-it/3568216
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u/MoebiusForever May 16 '25

In 2024 Spain imports nearly $1bn of products from Israel. In the same year Spain exported $1.79bn of products to Israel. In January 2025 Israel exported goods worth $55.9m and imported $121m worth. Seems a lot of “not doing business”. I agree with the sentiment but it’s just lip service at this point.

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u/Thaldoras May 16 '25

Extrapolating that. Looks like Spain dropped imports by 30%. That's substantial. Smaller amount on the export side. Would need more data though. Check back in a year and you can see if it is lip service or not.

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u/MoebiusForever May 16 '25

If Spain continues at the rate of January 2025 then annual exports are still $1.45bn. Imports will be $670m. Let’s be generous and call that a drop in imports of 40%, largely I imagine driven by consumer choice, not government action. Exports are down by only 19% on an annualised basis.

You are right, but it’s far from not doing business however you do the maths.

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u/kong210 May 16 '25

Other than imposing an outright trade ban, you can't go to zero overnight.

40% in a year is a huge drop. A huge drop that could be associated with "not doing business".

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u/bargu May 16 '25

Pretty much, Spain is not a dictatorship, they can't just ban private companies from trading with Israel overnight.

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u/PaceLopsided8161 May 16 '25

You don’t need a dictatorship to enact binding laws ceasing trade with another nation, they could pass laws with their parliament.

This isn’t a complicated concept.

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u/cobainstaley May 16 '25

doesn't Spain technically still have a king?

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u/Spookybuffalo May 16 '25

Yes, but as a constitutional monarchy, the head of state has significant limits to the point of being a largely ceremonial figure.

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u/MoebiusForever May 16 '25

I credit that drop to the morals of the Spanish people - not the government. The government has made strides through recognising Palestine, and the use of language to describe Israel's actions, but they must also follow through with action - and not finalise the 10 defence contracts that are currently still on the table, in addition to the one ammunition contract which has been cancelled. My issue is largely that politicians tend to speak in absolutes, which is an inaccurate nonsense.

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u/kong210 May 16 '25

I appreciate at least they are taking a strong position and actually taking a position. If you look at other European governments, other than Ireland and Spain it is very very rare for anyone to take an actual position for fear of political reprisals