Spain's reaction to the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence

Main article: International recognition of Kosovo

Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia was enacted on Sunday, 17 February 2008 by a unanimous vote of the Assembly of Kosovo. All 11 representatives of the Serb minority boycotted the proceedings. International reaction was mixed, and the world community continues to be divided on the issue, with 108 of 193 UN member states recognizing Kosovo's independence. Spain's reaction to the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence is one of non-recognition, mainly due to concerns about the implications for its own territory. Although it has given indications that its stance may change, increasing political tensions in Catalonia under the Government of Artur Mas makes it unlikely that Spain will soften its current position.

History

On 18 February 2008, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos said that Spain would not recognise Kosovo because the declaration of independence did not respect international law. He also said that the independence of Kosovo would only be legal if it was the result of agreement by all sides involved or if there had been a UNSC resolution. Spain will not take part in the EULEX mission until legal questions over how it will replace the UN administration are answered. Moratinos told a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Slovenia that Spain will not send its contingent to the EULEX mission until there has been a formal transfer of powers from the UN.
In February 2009, Ambassador of Spain to Serbia Íñigo de Palacio España said that Spain's position not to recognise Kosovo independence "would not change even after the adoption of the resolution by the European Parliament" and that "Most UN members do not recognize Kosovo's independence. Just 54 of 194 have recognized. The EP resolution is not mandatory and was adopted by a narrow majority, which indicated that there was a division within the institution on the issue of Kosovo's independence".

In May 2009 José García-Margallo y Marfil, Spanish member of the EU parliament, said that Spain does not recognise Kosovo because of principles related to Spain's Galicia, Basque, and Catalonia autonomous communities. However he also stressed that these Spanish autonomous communities are not comparable with Kosovo which is fundamentally different. García-Margallo said that despite Spain's non-recognition of Kosovo it will continue to support Kosovo and its development. On 14 May 2009, Juan Fernando López Aguilar, head of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) list for the European Parliament Elections (and former minister of justice), hinted that Spain might recognise Kosovo in the very long run, referring to the development of relations between Spain and Israel. At the press conference during the 64th Session of the UNGA, the Prime Minister of Spain José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero said that Spain has a consistent position on the question of recognition of the creation of independent States that required the respect of international law and that from Spain's point of view, it was not correct to recognise Kosovo. He stated that Spain will not change its position despite more than 60 countries that recognised and that "the question could be the reverse: why are there more than 100 countries that have not recognized Kosovo and why do those 60 not see what the other 100 see?".

In March 2012, during a fierce debate between Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Catalan MP and Convergence and Union spokesman Josep Antoni Duran i Lleida, Rajoy stated that he is opposed to the recognition of Kosovo as this is what suits the interests of Spain.