26th Franco-Spanish summit a chance to strengthen ties in Covid-hit Europe

French President Emmanuel Macron met the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday, the first Franco-Spanish summit for President Macron. Among the topics on the agenda, the question of dual nationality, and the management of the Covid crisis.

French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez before the 26th French-Spanish summit in Montauban, France March 15. REUTERS - POOL

The summit will be marked by the signing of an agreement on dual nationality and a tribute to the last president of the Spanish Republic, Manuel Azana who is buried in Montauban near Toulouse.

The 26th summit between the two countries was the first since February 2017 and is seen as "a symbolic place of Franco-Spanish history."

The highlight of the summit will be the signing of "the convention on nationality between the French Republic and the Kingdom of Spain", which is likely to concern several tens of thousands of people given the close historical ties between the two countries.

Bienvenue à Montauban @sanchezcastejon. Forts de notre identité européenne et de notre histoire, nous allons faire de ce sommet une étape importante de la relation entre nos pays. Nous le devons aux 150 000 Français qui vivent en Espagne et aux 190 000 Espagnols en France. https://t.co/09bDtS07fd

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) March 15, 2021

It will benefit the 150,000 French people living in Spain more than the 190,000 Spaniards living in France since French law does not prohibit multiple nationalities.

French foreign affairs minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has said that the agreement was a very concrete step forward, "a strong symbol and a mark of confidence to which we are all the more sensitive as Spain only authorises dual nationality with a limited number of partners."

While the two heads of will meet face to face, this will not be the case for the 26 ministers who joined the summit via video conference. 

On the agenda were discussions on the Covid-19 crisis and, in particular, the establishment of a European vaccine passport, which is still in the planning stage. The Spanish government wants France to be less reticent on the issue as Madrid is counting on it to boost tourism as soon as possible.

It was also the occasion to sign several bilateral accords, concerning education systems in secondary schools, and railway connections between the countries. The subject of the fight against jihadists in the Sahel was also on the agenda.

Topics which will no doubt be addressed further during an EU summit on 25 and 26 March. 

The two leaders ended their meeting by visiting the grave of Manuel Azana who lived in Montauban in exile after presiding over the Second Spanish Republic from 1936 to 1939 in the midst of the civil war, a first visit of its kind by a French head of state.

(AFP)