Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez Calls for End to UNSC Veto Power

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Spain’s Prime Minister names Russia and the US as sources of global instability, demands abolition of permanent veto rights, and calls for India, Africa, and Brazil to get seats at the UN’s highest table.

By TRH World Desk

New Delhi, March 11, 2026 — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called for sweeping reform of the United Nations Security Council, including the abolition of the permanent veto power. He argued that the current international order is no longer fit for purpose.

In a wide-ranging interview, Sánchez said Europe’s primary responsibility is to uphold a rules-based international order — but stressed that doing so requires Western governments to make difficult concessions to build a more representative global system.

“When I speak of renewed multilateralism, it means that Europe, Western societies, and Western governments will have to make sacrifices to make the international system far more representative,” Sánchez said.

The Spanish Prime Minister did not spare his criticism for current permanent Security Council members. He pointed to what he called the “curious” situation in which both Russia and the United States — two nations he accused of generating significant global instability — hold permanent seats with veto rights.

“Russia and the United States are, right now, two powers bringing great instability to the world,” he said, citing the ongoing war in Ukraine and tensions involving Iran.

Sánchez argued that any credible reform of the United Nations must dramatically expand representation to reflect today’s geopolitical realities. He specifically named India, the African continent, and Brazil as nations that deserve a far greater voice in multilateral institutions.

“If we reform the UN system, we will have to incorporate large nations such as India, the African continent, and Brazil, with much broader representation in these bodies,” he said.

The remarks signal Spain’s increasingly assertive posture on global governance reform at a time when transatlantic unity is under strain. Sánchez’s willingness to publicly criticise both Moscow and Washington in the same breath — and to call for an end to the Western veto monopoly — marks a notable diplomatic statement from a sitting EU head of government.