MADRID, 21 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Defense Minister, Margarita Robles, has launched this Friday a message to the Spanish military industry to deploy its capacity and international competence. “Spain has to become an important player in the defense industry and right now we are lagging behind,” she told the top brass of Spanish defense companies.
In a forum organized by “El Economista”, Robles has said he is aware of the economic scenario that Spain has gone through, but has claimed the investment “effort” of the Government of Pedro Sánchez in defense –13,000 million in modernization programs since the beginning of the legislature– and has asked the industry to make an effort to catch up with other European countries.
“We have a lot of capacity, initiative and desire to do things, but a lot of international competition because they beat us,” he insisted, pointing out that, compared to other countries, the Spanish industry is “very small” and that makes it sometimes “less competitive” .
“Just as we are satisfied that the Spanish Armed Forces have muscle, body and solvency, I would like to request a special effort from the Spanish defense industry -he continued-. It cannot be that the defense industry of other countries of the Union Europe is winning the game for us”.
In addition, he has warned of the problems that countries are having to replenish the military material they send to Ukraine and has asked the defense industry to make an effort to guarantee the necessary stock of weapons required by the Armed Forces.
Minister Robles has drawn attention to this “delay” in replacing the material that is provided to Ukraine, a concern that she has assured that she has already shared with her international partners in the last meetings held. “She We are concerned about how long the international defense industries are going to take to replenish the material that we are sending, which is defensive material and material for peace,” she acknowledged.
In any case, he has taken advantage of the increase in military investment contemplated in the Budget project for next year and has claimed that “nobody should have complexes” in saying that they invest in the Armed Forces and support the defense industry. “That is investing in Spain”, he has proclaimed claiming that “Spain belongs to everyone” and “nobody can make the defense industry, Spain or its flag a patrimonial because they belong to everyone”.
Robles also reviewed the effort that Spain is making on NATO’s eastern flank since the start of the Russian military offensive last February. The troops deployed in Latvia have increased from 350 to 650 with the shipment of a battery of anti-aircraft missiles, the Navy participates in deployments in the Mediterranean and the Air Force has reinforced its aerial police missions in the Baltic and over the Black Sea, with new missions in November and December in Bulgaria and Romania.
In addition, it has confirmed that Spain will send four Hawk missile launchers to Ukraine, as revealed by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. “We do not publicize each and every material that we donate for security reasons,” he justified, adding his “pride” when Spain received applause from the leader of the Atlantic Alliance.
It has also detailed the shipment “in the coming days” of five electric generators belonging to the Air Force in the face of Russian attacks on basic infrastructure that could endanger the supply in hospitals or other vulnerable spaces.
As he has defended, in this case there can be no “equidistances” and “the only culprit” of the war is the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, since he was the one who initiated the military invasion despite previous diplomatic attempts by international bodies.
However, he believes that the war has helped citizens understand the need to invest in defense, which he has stressed is the same as investing in peace because “without peace there is no education or health”.
This has insisted that the Government “is very clear” and demonstrates it “with facts” as reflected in the Budgets with the objective of reaching 2 percent of GDP in 2029. “The Government’s position admits of no doubt” , has guaranteed.
