The Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Spain and France was signed in
Barcelona in 2023. France has already completed its parliamentary ratification.
while Spain is still waiting to do so after an initial rejection in Congress and a new submission of the text to the Cortes.
From a business and international perspective, this situation warrants reflection that goes beyond the political calendar. We are not simply talking about a diplomatic treaty, but about an instrument designed to strengthen one of Europe's most important economic relationships.
Spain and France maintain a strategic trade relationship. France is Spain's main trading partner and one of the priority destinations for the internationalization of Spanish companies. According to data from the Spanish Economic and Commercial Office in Paris, in 2025 Spanish exports to France reached €55.789 billion, while imports from France amounted to €38.447 billion. The trade balance was favorable for Spain by more than €17.300 billion, confirming the strength and complementarity of both economies.
Investment is another pillar of this relationship. France is the second largest foreign investor in Spain in terms of accumulated investment, with over €64.300 billion invested in the country. Spain, in turn, maintains an investment stock of over €25.300 billion in France. This business presence also has a direct impact on employment: French companies operating in Spain generate more than 376.000 jobs, while Spanish investments in France support nearly 57.000 jobs.
French companies such as Carrefour, Leroy Merlin, Orange, Capgemini, and BNP Paribas have been part of the Spanish economic fabric for decades. Similarly, Spanish companies like Indra, Acciona, Ferrovial, Gestamp, CAF, and Cosentino have consolidated significant positions in the French market, contributing to a stronger economic relationship that extends far beyond the institutional sphere.
This economic interdependence is especially relevant in the current context. The Draghi report on European competitiveness warns of the need to accelerate innovation, increase investment, and strengthen the continent's industrial base to avoid a gradual loss of ground to the United States and China. Within this framework, Franco-Spanish cooperation can play a key role in developing joint deeptech strategies in areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, energy, mobility, healthcare, semiconductors, and advanced industrial technologies.
French economic priorities also align with many of the recommendations made by Draghi. France is driving significant investments in artificial intelligence, data centers, nuclear energy, green industry, and strategic technologies. Greater coordination with Spain in these areas could facilitate the creation of European-scale industrial projects and contribute to a reindustrialization based on innovation, talent, and technological sovereignty.
Spain and France have a unique opportunity to play a leading role in this transformation. Together, they constitute two of the largest economies in the European Union and form a market of over 100 million consumers, with significant industrial capabilities, strategic infrastructure, and growing innovation ecosystems.
The Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation provides a stable framework for strengthening this collaboration. Beyond its political dimension, it establishes permanent coordination mechanisms between the two governments and fosters cooperation in areas directly linked to European competitiveness, such as energy, innovation, research, industry, mobility, and strategic infrastructure.
The practical benefits of this cooperation are already evident in projects such as H2Med, designed to connect the Iberian Peninsula with the rest of Europe via a renewable hydrogen transport network, and in the new cross-border electricity interconnections being developed by both countries. These initiatives not only strengthen European energy security but also create new opportunities for industry and investment.
Ratification of the treaty will not automatically generate more exports or more investment. However, it can provide a more favorable political and institutional framework for promoting joint projects, coordinating industrial priorities, accelerating strategic infrastructure, and facilitating collaboration between companies, universities, technology centers, and public administrations.
At a time when Europe is seeking to rebuild its industrial capacity, strengthen its technological autonomy, and compete on equal footing with the major economic powers, cooperation between Spain and France should be seen as a long-term strategic investment. The economic relationship between the two countries is already a success story; ratification of the treaty would allow it to become more ambitious and provide better tools to meet the challenges of the coming decades.
Stéphane Ruiz Coupeau
Director of the ESSCA School of Management campus in Malaga
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