Spain Puts On a Show to Win Post-Brexit Military Role

Madrid seeks to claim U.K.’s command-and-control tasks for European Union

ROTA, Spain—If pirates take over a Danish cargo vessel off Somalia tomorrow, the European Union’s military response will most likely be directed from the U.K.

But with the U.K. scheduled to exit from the EU in less than a year, the sun is destined to set on Britain’s central role in European defense.

That looming shift brought senior European...