Overview
- Germany’s president was received with full military honors by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia in Madrid in the first German state visit to Spain since 2002.
- In a speech to a joint session of Spain’s Congress and Senate, he urged reforms to make the European Union faster and more decisive.
- At the state banquet, he acknowledged German heavy guilt for the 1937 bombing of Gernika, stating that the crime was committed by Germans.
- Thursday’s agenda includes a German‑Spanish business forum and talks with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, with support for Ukraine among the topics.
- He is slated to become the first German head of state to visit Guernica on Friday, with a wreath‑laying and a stop at the town’s peace museum.