Begoña Gómez denied travel to NATO summit in Ankara, allowed London trip

A Spanish judge acting as a substitute for Judge Juan Carlos Peinado (who is on vacation) granted Begoña Gómez, the wife of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, permission to travel to London between 8 and 10 July to attend her daughter’s graduation. She must hand over her passport to the court before the trip and return it by 13 July.

The same judge rejected her request to accompany the prime minister to the NATO summit in Ankara, citing that Turkey is not part of the EU’s area of freedom, security and justice and that Gómez’s participation would be “only a matter of institutional courtesy, without an active role.” The decision follows earlier precautionary measures that seized her passport and barred her from leaving Spain while she faces a trial for alleged influence‑peddling, corruption, embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds.

The Spanish government publicly expressed surprise at the ruling, calling it “incomprehensible” and “disproportionate.”