Spain’s Foreign Ministry Under Fire Over Press Freedom And Centralization

By Inés Fernández-Pontes

(EurActiv) -- Spain’s diplomatic corps and foreign affairs journalists have raised alarm over what they describe as a sharp institutional decline at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since the arrival of José Manuel Albares, citing growing restrictions on press access and increasingly centralised decision-making.

On Monday, Madrid’s Press Association condemned what it described as “pressure” from senior foreign ministry officials – including journalist “vetoes” and the informal labelling of media outlets as “friendly” or “hostile”.

The controversy flared last week when a journalist noted at a press conference that Albares had not held a standalone presser for eight months. Days later, El Confidencial Digital reported that the minister had sought to bar her from the ministry – a move later conveyed to her employer by his spokesperson.

The episode sparked outrage among Spain’s foreign affairs press corps, which accuses Albares of undermining press freedom since taking office in 2021.

Journalists including Francisco Carrión from El Independiente have denounced what they called a growing “law of silence” – marked by blacklists, restricted access to diplomats, opaque briefings – whilst Angie Calero from daily ABC rebuked the ministry’s communication strategy increasingly reliant on social media.

“We have no access to any diplomats. No one wants to speak out of fear. There is an unusual code of silence typical of undemocratic regimes where purges prevail,” said Macarena Gutiérrez from newspaper La Razón.

Critics say the lack of briefings and press conferences – and the ministry well-known no-response policy – have created major blind spots on sensitive dossiers, including the EU–UK Gibraltar talks, maritime negotiations with Morocco, the transfer of Western Sahara airspace control and Spain’s push to include Catalan, Basque and Galician in the EU’s linguistic regime.

Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Euractiv it had not requested the removal or reassignment of any journalist from any media outlet. The ministry added that its press briefings “are, have always been, and will always be open and free” to any journalist seeking accreditation.

Diplomatic rebuke

Concerns extend beyond the media. Alberto Virella, president of the Association of Spanish Diplomats (ADE) and a former ambassador to Senegal, told Euractiv that the opacity mirrors deeper problems within the ministry itself.

“The ministry’s communication policy is anomalous,” Virella said, noting that ambassadors – and diplomats more broadly – are discouraged from speaking to the press for fear of reprimand.

He added that appointment procedures have also become less transparent, with postings no longer clearly based on seniority but on criteria “known only to the minister”.

“These conditions favour arbitrariness and cronyism,” Virella said, warning that they weaken Spain’s diplomatic effectiveness.

In response to the bulging scandal, the foreign ministry dismissed the accusations in a statement posted on social media, branding the claims “hoaxes”.