Southern Europe in February 2026: the most important developments in politics
Southern Europe in February 2026 was dominated by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's dispute with the judiciary. Her government passed a security decree package on 5 February after clashes in Turin injured around 100 police officers, amid criticism from judicial authorities. On 18 and 19 February Meloni called a court ruling ordering Italy to pay 76,000 euros to the rescue ship Sea-Watch 3 "absurd" and accused part of the judiciary of political judgments. On 19 February French President Emmanuel Macron told her to stop commenting on French affairs after she remarked on the killing of an activist in Lyon. Italy also decided to attend Donald Trump's "Board of Peace" for Gaza as an observer, drawing objections from opposition leader Elly Schlein, while the Vatican declined to take part. Meloni met Vice President JD Vance in Milan and presented a new Africa partnership plan at the Italy-Africa summit on 13 February.
In Spain, the regional election in Aragon on 8 February left the People's Party (PP) in first place but with fewer seats, while Vox doubled its representation and demanded a role in government. In Extremadura the PP decided against a coalition with Vox, and the deadlock raised the possibility of a repeat election. Vox faced an internal dispute between Santiago Abascal and Javier Ortega Smith, and its Murcia leadership resigned. The left-wing alliance broke apart after Podemos rejected a plan to split from Sumar. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez clashed with Italy over a pre-summit meeting held without Spain, and on 28 February rejected the US and Israeli military actions against Iran.
In Portugal, Socialist candidate António José Seguro won the presidential runoff on 8 February in a landslide over André Ventura. The interior minister resigned after criticism of the government's response to deadly storms.
Greece and Turkey traded statements over territorial waters and maritime rights in the Aegean ahead of talks in Ankara,. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met Trump on 18 February. A Greek court sentenced four people in the Predator spyware case, and the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot leaders met to revive negotiations on the island's future.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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