Spain quietly tells state-controlled firms to stop signing new Palantir contracts

Spain’s government has reportedly instructed board members at state-controlled companies to stop signing new contracts with Palantir Technologies, the US data-analytics firm. The guidance came through boardroom channels rather than a public order, per reporting first published July 1, 2026.

The instruction is significant for how quiet it is. No public order was issued; the prime minister’s office, Moncloa, has made no official announcement, and the pullback is described as informal guidance passed through directors at firms controlled by SEPI, the state holding company that manages Spain’s industrial stakes.

The affected firms sit at the center of Spanish security and industry: Telefonica in communications, Indra in defense, simulation and military intelligence systems, and Navantia in military shipbuilding. A Palantir collaboration with Spain’s Civil Guard was reportedly vetoed by the Interior Ministry, and an advanced project with Navantia will reportedly not proceed.

One thread is not being cut: Spain’s Ministry of Defence is separately still in talks with Palantir about renewing an existing 16.5 million euro contract with the Armed Forces Intelligence Centre, signed in 2023 and expiring in November 2026.

The reporting rests on a single Spanish outlet’s account, corroborated by others citing the same report; no first-party Spanish government statement confirms the instruction, and Palantir’s response was not detailed. Because the guidance is informal, not a formal ban, whether it hardens into policy or quietly lapses is unresolved.