On Wednesday, Irish broadcaster RTE reported that Ireland, Spain and several other EU member states were considering recognizing Palestinian statehood on May 21.
"Decisions of the [Spanish] Council of Ministers should never be anticipated … In fact, it is not so much the exact day that is important, but the decision [on the recognition of Palestine], and the decision has already been made," Albares said at a panel discussion with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in Madrid.
In late March, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that Madrid had reached an agreement with Ireland, Slovenia and Malta to take the first steps toward recognizing the State of Palestine to promote the peace process. The nations later issued a joint statement, in which they expressed their readiness to recognize the State of Palestine under the "right circumstances."
The State of Palestine is currently recognized by nine EU member states. Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania and Slovakia took this step in 1988, before joining the EU, while Sweden recognized the State of Palestine in 2014.
The UN General Assembly voted in 1947 to divide UK-governed Palestine into Arab and Jewish states, with Jerusalem placed under a special international regime. The partitioning was planned to take place in May 1948, when the British mandate was due to end, but only the state of Israel was established.
Palestinians seek diplomatic recognition of their independent state in the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which is partially occupied by Israel, and the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government refuses to recognize Palestine as an independent political and diplomatic entity and builds settlements in the occupied areas despite objections from the United Nations.