Spain's Sanchez says Granada represents respect for different cultures, civilizations

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez emphasized the history and symbolism of the city of Granada on Thursday ahead of two days of pivotal EU talks.

“This city represents a lot of things. In my opinion, the most important is the respect for different cultures and civilizations. This is the message we want to send to the rest of the world,” said Sanchez, referring to Granada’s Islamic heritage.

In Granada, European leaders will discuss several key topics including the war in Ukraine, artificial intelligence, energy independence and strategic autonomy. But perhaps the most consequential debate will come on Friday when leaders discuss EU enlargement.

“Tomorrow, we’ll open this big debate about a deep reform of the EU so that in the next years we can get bigger; so we can move from an EU of 27 members to an EU of 35,” Sanchez told reporters.

There are currently eight official candidates waiting to join the EU, including Türkiye.

“Spain’s position, no matter what government in power, is clear: we are always open to enlargement,” Sanchez said. “We benefited from enlargement in 1986 so we will always be open to debates about opening to new countries.”

He also celebrated Wednesday’s news that Spain will host the 2030 World Cup alongside Portugal and Morocco as another symbol of the country's openness to multilateralism and working with partners outside of Europe.

After the press conference, Sanchez was set to hold a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before talks officially kicked off.

Later on Thursday, Sanchez and Spain’s King Felipe VI will join European leaders on a tour of the Alhambra — one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Islamic world.

The Emirate of Granada, part of the Islamic state Al-Andalus, was established in 1230 and lasted until 1492.

Spain is hosting the events as the rotating president of the Council of the European Union. ​​​​​​​