Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (L) meets French President Emmanuel Macron in Barcelona on January 19, 2023. (Photo: AP)

The treaty calls on both countries to support the adoption of measures to protect European companies against economic coercion and unfair practices, as well as an ambitious European industrial policy aimed at strengthening the EU's strategic autonomy and recovery capacity.

The industrial references come amid an intense debate within the European Union on how to respond to government support measures under the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). EU countries fear the IRA will unfairly disadvantage their companies because many of the subsidies only go to products that are built in North America.