From the ministry it is explained that the “political decision” has been adopted but it is necessary that the US now give a definitive calendar | The Government hopes to be able to reach the threshold of 2% of GDP in military spending, committed at the Wales summit, “between 2028 and 2030”
The Ministry of Defense cools the arrival of two new destroyer ships at the Rota naval base (Cádiz), which US President Joe Biden has asked Spain to host. They are not expected to be shipped in the remainder of the year. The Government ensures that Americans still they have to set their schedule Y probably “take more than six months”. For the moment, they explain, what has been adopted is the “political decision”, visualized this Tuesday in the meeting that the chief executive, Pedro Sánchez, held with Biden in Moncloa, and embodied in a joint statement. But now, they add, the Americans have to make a concrete proposal.
This calendar, much more diffuse than it seemed at first, postpones the open debate between the members of the Executive coalition, PSOE and United We Can, who disagree on this matter. The purple formation maintains its antimilitarist culture unchanged and opposes NATO, the increase in defense spending and the reinforcement of military collaboration with the US, despite the profound changes in the international order that the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
the rise of four to six warships and all the additional personnel that it entails, some 600 more soldiers, supposes a modification of the Defense Cooperation Agreement of 1988. His change must first be approved by the Council of Ministers and ratified later by the Cortes Generales.
In the meeting in Moncloa and the subsequent appearance, Biden conveyed his desire that the increase in Rota’s capacity be carried out “Better sooner than later.” Hours later, at the beginning of the NATO summit, the White House issued a statement in which it specified that in addition to Spain it will reinforce its military presence in five other European countries –Poland, Romania, Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany-. It will also increase “rotational deployments” in the Baltic zone.
broken works
This entire plan, which is due both to Biden’s desire to correct the withdrawal in Europe carried out by his predecessor, Donald Trump, and to the decision to respond to the war in Ukraine, conditions the final calendar for Spain. According to ministry sources, it is necessary to carry out works at the Rota naval base to house these new shipsan expense that Americans, they say, have already budgeted for.
That is why they insist that until the US does not specify when they will send the two destroyers, it is not possible to launch the legislative procedure to modify the current agreement. The question now is, therefore, when it will go through the Council of Ministers. In Defense they emphasize that in theory there would be no rush. If the purple ones, in the meeting of the Executive, voted against or abstained, “a major crisis would open” in the Cabinetthey warn from the socialist leadership
Moncloa sources indicated this Wednesday to this newspaper that they were awaiting a conversation with the Foreign Affairs and Defense ministers, José Manuel Albares and Margarita Robles, to finish adjusting the gear of the procedure. The Socialist Group hoped that the Council of Ministers would proceed to approve the amendment to the 1988 Defense Agreement as soon as possible, so that its validation could be included in the full broom of Congress on July 14, so that the The Senate will also endorse it before the summer break. But, according to Defense, this is up in the air because it all depends on the washington times.
Accession of Sweden and Finland
What does urge the Executive more is the ratification of the accession of Sweden and Finland as members of NATO. After lifting its veto Turkey, both countries will be considered formally invited countries from next July 5. Sánchez has always defended that he wants Spain to give the go-ahead for her entry as soon as possible.
Precisely, the president used the example of Stockholm and Helsinki to call United We Can to “reflection”, because if two historically neutral countries have requested their adhesion to the Alliance it is because they feel the threat of Russia very close. That is why NATO needs to increase its “deterrence” capabilities. “Neither Europe nor NATO is an organization made of expansionist or imperialist whims like the Russia of [Vladímir] Putin,” he told them. The government, however, has guaranteed to go ahead with the ratification of the new text of the convention with the support of PP and Citizens. The popular have already warned, without revealing their vote, that “they will not fail” in everything that involves strengthening the bilateral relationship with the US.
2% in a decade
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is changing the world order. Not only has it brought Sweden and Finland out of their neutrality, it has also moved Germany to multiply its military spending. And it has pushed the allies to also increase their defense budget. Sánchez already promised that he would do it, despite the opposition of United We Can. Sources from the ministry that Robles pilots pointed out that his forecast is that “Between 2028 and 2030” Spain reaches an investment equivalent to 2% of GDPa threshold that NATO members undertook to reach, with a ten-year horizon, at the 2014 Wales summit. Right now, according to figures from the organization itself, military spending in our country stands at 1 .01% of GDP, just one step above Luxembourg (0.58%).
The Executive had already anticipated that it was impossible to double the Defense budget by 2024, which is currently close to 10,000 million euros, because the ministry would not have the capacity to absorb it, but it would speed up the increase in the annual allocation. Now, therefore, it outlines the forecast, by setting “between 2028 and 2030” as a temporary goal. During the work session this Wednesday at the Madrid summit, “several countries” promised to increase their defense budget, up to 2.5% or above it.