This threatens to also delay the current Spanish EU Council Presidency, which could impact several key Green Deal components.
The conservative Partido Popular under party leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo did win the elections decisively (from 89 to 136 seats), but even with support from the far-right Vox party (from 52 to 33 seats) it does not secure a majority. As a result, the caretaker PSOE Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez can remain in office for the time being, as can the experienced agriculture minister Luis Planas.
Spain now faces a potential months-long political deadlock that could affect the EU Council Presidency. The Conservatives want, among other things, to halt the expansion of renewable energy.
In Brussels, negotiations are currently ongoing over the future of crop protection and nature conservation. The already strong opposition against these two proposals could be strengthened by the possible arrival of a conservative PP government in Madrid.
Additionally, EU Vice-President Frans Timmermans will soon be absent as an advocate for the Green Deal. Timmermans is leaving Brussels in August because he is a candidate for the lead position on the candidate list of the center-left coalition parties PvdA and GroenLinks.
In reality, the Spanish PSOE Prime Minister Sanchez had hoped to improve his position with the early parliamentary elections. Although he gained two seats, even with support from his intended green-left coalition partners Sumar (a newcomer, from zero to 31 seats) and four small regional groups (totaling 19 seats), he still falls short of the 176 seats needed for a majority.
In theory, the Catalan JxCat party (from 8 to 7 seats) could help both PP and PSOE achieve a majority, but this independence-seeking party does not want to cooperate with any 'national' party (at least so far). The Catalan party leader Carlos de Puigdemont has been living in exile in Brussels for several years, where he sits in the European Parliament. Spain wants to prosecute him and has requested Belgium to extradite him.
The regional rural party in the province of Teruel ('Empty Spain') that participated in the elections in only a few provinces lost the single parliamentary seat it won nationally in 2019. The new rural coalition maintains some local council seats in certain villages and towns, but also loses the two Senate seats it won in 2019.