Madrid will be the scene of the XXX Ibero-American Summit on November 4 and 5, in the middle of the electoral calendar and just seven days before the official start of the campaign for the early elections on November 29, elections announced this Monday by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez.
The Executive had set as a goal for this international meeting to give a new boost to this forum, after the disinterest shown by various leaders in previous meetings and in a context in which the Ibero-American region is leaning towards right-wing positions. Now, in addition, the summit will inevitably be conditioned by the proximity of the call to the polls.
Spain assumed the pro tempore secretariat of the Ibero-American Summit at the end of the previous edition, held in November 2024 in Cuenca (Ecuador), and since then the Government has been shaping both the logistics of the meeting and the drafts of the documents and agreements that are expected to be approved.
In this framework, on September 16, Sánchez held a meeting with the head of the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB), Andrés Allamand, while the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, led the traditional preparatory breakfast of chancellors for the summit on September 24, held on the margins of the UN General Assembly.
Attendance of leaders and political context
Last week, Albares indicated that the majority of Ibero-American leaders have already confirmed their travel to Madrid, after only the heads of state of Spain and Portugal, King Felipe VI and Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, along with the host president, Daniel Noboa, attended the last summit.
The previous general elections of 2023 also coincided with a key period for Spain on the international scene. At that time, the country assumed the rotating presidency of the EU Council on July 1 and the possibility of a change in La Moncloa during the semester was contemplated, something that ultimately did not happen, although Sánchez remained in office until November 17, the date on which he swore in again before the King.
As a sign that the machinery of the summit continues despite the electoral announcement, the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, chaired an interministerial meeting on Monday in which the main lines for the design, coordination, and execution of the Special Security Plan linked to the Ibero-American meeting were established.
Special security plan in Madrid
The Secretary of State for Security has issued Instruction 10/2026, which includes, as is customary for this type of event, a "critical phase" of the security device from 8:00 AM on November 3 until the closure of the summit. This period will involve the "maximum level of activation along with the various self-protection and emergency plans," in coherence with the current Alert Level of the Prevention, Protection, and Antiterrorist Response Plan, set at 4 out of a maximum of 5.
Marlaska has analyzed with representatives of the State Security Forces and Corps and other departments the "unique demands in terms of security and protection given that it is an international event that will attract media and informational focus from different places around the globe."
In the meeting held at the Ministry of the Interior, representatives from the Presidency of the Government and the ministries of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, and Defense participated, as well as officials from the Royal House, Government Delegation in Madrid, Community and City Council of Madrid, Spanish Airports (Aena), Air Navigation of Spain (Enaire), and National Heritage.
Sánchez's European agenda before the polls
In the community sphere, Sánchez has several high-level meetings ahead of the elections. The first was the Med9 summit, which brings together the leaders of the Mediterranean countries of the EU --Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Portugal, Malta, Slovenia, and Croatia-- scheduled for this Wednesday in the Croatian city of Split, which he will ultimately not attend, according to sources from Moncloa.
In addition, the president has on his agenda the ordinary European Council on October 15 and 16, as well as an informal summit to be held on November 13 in Ireland, before a third meeting in Brussels focused on negotiating the next multiannual budget of the EU.
This last meeting, initially scheduled for November 26 and 27 --still pending definitive confirmation--, will lead the heads of State and Government to discuss the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF, for its acronym in English) for 2028-2034 and would coincide, on its second day, with the last day of the Spanish electoral campaign.
Diplomatic sources consulted by Europa Press still consider it too early to speculate whether Sánchez will be in Brussels and point out that he could participate in the meeting despite the coincidence with the campaign closure, given the decisive moment of the discussions on the future European accounts, in which marked differences persist among partners regarding the volume of the budget and the allocation of items such as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) or cohesion funds.
If he decided not to attend, the President of the Government could not be replaced by another Spanish representative, as the rules of the European Council only allow an absent leader to delegate their vote to another head of State or Government. This formula would also not enable the presence in his place of Felipe VI, who lacks the constitutional powers to represent Spain in that body.
Government in office after November 29
In any case, it would not be the first time that a European summit coincides with the campaign of general elections in Spain. In the last elections, Sánchez left the meeting between the EU and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) held in Brussels early to travel to San Sebastián, where he was scheduled to speak at a rally, so he also did not appear at the final press conference of the meeting, where his presence was expected as the rotating president.
The situation of the Executive will change after the general elections on November 29, at which point Pedro Sánchez and his ministers will be in office, with their powers limited. For subsequent international meetings, he will attend already knowing the electoral result and whether or not he has options to continue in the Presidency of the Government.