"The challenge for Europe is not only to arm itself to respond to security and defense issues, but also to morally arm itself, so it can contribute to stable and peaceful development worldwide," Sanchez said at the POLITICO European Pulse forum in Barcelona.
He stated that at a time when the United States has withdrawn from international cooperation, Europe has an obligation to step in and fill that gap. In this context, Spain presents itself as a leader that the rest of the EU should follow.
"There are elements of the Spanish model that work: it is possible to grow and create stable jobs, distribute wealth, and simultaneously protect the environment, without sacrificing one for the other," said the Spanish prime minister.
Sanchez said it is essential for Brussels to suspend its cooperation agreement with Israel in protest against its apparent disregard for international law.
He is one of the loudest European critics of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's military operations in Gaza and Lebanon. He has also clashed with U.S. President Donald Trump and strongly opposed the U.S. and Israel's war against Iran.
"Citizens of Europe do not want their leaders to turn a blind eye, to be self-absorbed. They want to engage in finding solutions to the global challenges humanity faces," reads one of his messages.
Sanchez said the EU must better appreciate its own achievements and rejected the views of far-right and Eurosceptic parties that claim the bloc has lost its touch or is falling behind.
"It feels good to be European," he said throughout the rest of his speech.
Sanchez called on the EU bloc to act courageously.
"We have the resources, institutions, talent, principles, values. The only thing we lack is the courage to imagine how far we can go or how far we can go together," he concluded.