BREAKING: Óscar Puente in the Government of France? Congress gives the green light to the ‘Erasmus’ of ministers
Latest Developments:
Governments, analysts, and media outlets are continuing to follow this situation closely as additional details become available.
Óscar Puente in a Council of Ministers in the Elysée and the French Minister of Transport in the Moncloa? The initiative, similar to an Erasmus for politicians, is getting closer to being approved. The Foreign Commission of Congress gave the green light this Wednesday to the exchange of ministers between Spain and France, which would take place every three months. This is an agreement included in the Spanish-French Friendship Treaty signed by Pedro Sánchez and Emmanuel Macron during a summit held in 2023 in Barcelona. The Executive tried to approve this treaty, but due to the controversial nature of this measure of exchange of ministers, the text was rejected in 2025. In fact, it was the first friendship treaty to be rejected by the Lower House. Now everything has changed, since Junts and Podemos, which until now were against, abstained. Only PP and Vox have voted against this Wednesday. Therefore, everything is ready for its final approval in the Plenary Session of Congress next week. As stated in the treaty, “a member of the Government of one of the parties will be invited to the Council of Ministers of the other party, at least once every three months and by rotation.” Socialist deputy Pepe Mercadal wanted to clarify that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, and his French counterpart, Jean-Noël Barrot, agreed in April that this invitation, when it takes place, “will take place to participate in the margins” of the Council of Ministers and that there will be “a separate meeting.” Meanwhile, from the PP, Ricardo Tarno expressed his doubts about its constitutionality, considering that the treaty “is the same” and that “not a single comma has been changed.” They even consider that this provision violates article 98 of the Constitution, by allowing the entry of foreign representatives into the highest national Executive body. For this reason, the Senate – with a majority of the PP – approved a request before the Constitutional Court in February 2025. Although after the rejection of Congress, a few months later, he shelved the issue. Now it is different and everything indicates that, in a few months, the Erasmus for ministers will begin.
Key Developments:
Officials and international observers are expected to continue monitoring the story closely over the coming days.
Observers believe further developments could significantly shape the direction of this story in the near future.
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Source: This article was originally published by El Español – Home and adapted for our international English-speaking audience.
Read the original article here.