Name: Gas prices in UK and Europe soar after strikes on energy facilities in Qatar and Iran | BBC News
Uploaded: 2026-03-19T16:38:33.000Z
Duration: 10 min 39 s
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The price of gas in Europe is more than double the level seen before the conflict began.

Well, let's now cross live and talk about this country's response to the war.

Let's talk to Jose Manuel Alvarez Bueno, the foreign minister of Spain.

Thank you so much for joining us on the program, Minister.

And can I ask you first of all for your reaction to the escalation that we've seen overnight, both with that Israeli attack on the pass oil field, but

also the retaliation and the subsequent rises in those energy prices.

We condemn, of course, all those attacks both from Israel and from Iran to those energy facilities.

They are incredibly dangerous, both for human life, for the environment.

And we have seen already the tremendous impact on the prices of energy.

This is damaging the well being of our cities.

And this is a war on which Europe was neither consulting nor informed.

But we are seeing that we are being hit by the consequences.

And therefore, as Spain did since the very first day of this unilateral action, we call for de escalation, we call for diplomacy and we call for going back to the negotiating table.

Let's talk a little bit about the fact that you just said that Europe was hasn't been involved in this war, hasn't known about how it started.

But are you surprised that President Trump has said on Truth Social that he knew nothing about the Israeli strike on those oil fields, given that the Israelis and the Americans have gone into this war together.

I understand that they have different objectives right now in the war, Israel and the United States.

But what secret important is that those that initiated this war realizes that it's out of control, that we don't see very clear how long this can take.

What are the objectives of this war and it's putting in danger the lives of millions of people that it has destabilized completely the Middle East.

We see places like Lebanon, 1 million displacement people.

It's a real shame for humanity and that the impact for the well being of everyone on earth is being put in danger, certainly for the well being of hispaniols and European citizens.

And therefore there is no military solution for the current situation.

De escalation once again, going back to the negotiating table.

Security never comes only through military force.

There's a hot war happening in Europe right now in Ukraine.

President Trump is clearly angry with Europe for not helping along the Strait of Hormuz.

How do you keep a president on side insofar as the war in Ukraine is concerned, if you don't help him in the Middle east when he needs it.

We were together since the very beginning with the United States in front of the Russian aggression.

And the Russian invasion in Ukraine and European Union is burying right now most of the cost, both financially and in delivering weapons to help the democracy and the freedom of Ukraine.

So it was a common decision, a common decision by Europe and the United States to support freedom, democracy, international law, reject words of aggression and the reward of the aggression.

In the case of Ukraine, when it comes to Iran and the Middle east, we didn't know anything about it.

Everyone in Europe, all the governments in Europe, we started to know about this war when we woke up.

And we start to see the images in our screens of tv.

What does that tell you about your relationship with the US that you didn't know anything?

Well, the American administration is being very clear about the transatlantic relation and is telling us that we have to take more burden sharing of our own security.

And I think it's the time for Europe to make a leap forward on its sovereignty, its economic and trade sovereignty, but

That's why Spain is calling for better integrate the industries of defence of Europe and to create a European army, not to replace the national armies, but

to create that rapid response force to guarantee our own deterrence.

Europe must not be a power to sit at the table of the powerful countries, to be a new aggressive power, but

to balance, to be a voice of reason, a voice that defends international law, negotiation, diplomacy, but

also to tell those that think that war is another way of carrying out its objective in foreign policy, that we have our own deterrence to guarantee that Europe remains a land of peace.

you've said in the past that those strikes on Iran violate international law.

Are you accusing of the US of acting illegally?

And if so, what does that mean for international law?

What does international law mean anymore?

I think everyone in the world agrees that the unilateral action taken on Iran was a breach of international law.

It doesn't fall into the United Nations Charter principle, but

we are still a very vast majority of countries and people around the world that believe in international law, that believes in the principles of the United Nations Charter.

Because the option to the law, to international law is the pure use of force.

The option to world order based on predictable rules is the law of the jungle, the strength, only the use of force.

And therefore the option to the world order is the world disorder.

And if we start to put disorder everywhere at the end we will get to chaos.

We are seeing that already today in the Middle east being destabilized in the human catastrophe that we are seeing everywhere.

In Lebanon, we are seeing it with the soaring prices in energy.

That's why international law remains the best way to have virtuous relations with all the countries in the planet.

EU leaders are meeting to discuss the conflict today in Brussels.

I think everyone in Europe is clear and very concerned with this war that is not a European war and with the soaring prices of energy.

On Monday we had a foreign affairs council and it was very clear that we were calling for de escalation, that Europe doesn't want to get involved in this war, that we know very little, we don't know the objectives.

And we really, we really want negotiations and de escalations to be leading the path in the Middle East.

Spain has been one of the countries to speak out the most strongly against what the US and Israel are doing in Iran.

Do you sometimes wish that other countries like the UK came out also as strongly as you have?

We have a coherent foreign policy that says the same thing for the same objectives and for the same principles in Ukraine or in the Middle east or in Greenland.

It's to back international law is to back diplomacy, negotiation, United Nations Charter.

And I see that more and more countries start to get into Spain's position.

And we are very clear on the respect of international law and also very clear in how the consequences of this war will have an impact in the well being of all our citizens in Europe.

Do you feel that other countries are scared of President Trump, are scared of the repercussions?

We are a great partner of the United States.

We think that the United States is the historical natural ally of Europe.

Spain and the United States have a very strong trade relationship with that very big surplus for the United States.

We are one of the big buyers of gas, LNG gas to the United States.

United States uses two military bases of Spanish sovereignty and we have a historical deployment in the eastern flank of Europe.

And we were in the in the NATO mission in Iraq providing security to the Euro Atlantic security.

We work for that relationship to continue being as strong as it has always been and mutually beneficial for both Spain, Europe and also the United States.

But we have also a coherent foreign policy that sticks to principles, not just for the sake of the principles, not because they are beautiful ideas.

Because they have provided decades of prosperity, peace and stability for Europe.

And we want the world to continue being like that.

Jose Manuel Alvarez Bueno, the Spanish minister for Foreign Affairs.

It's been really interesting to talk to you, so thank you once again for taking the time to speak to us on BBC News.