The defense budget will have an increase of 7.89% in 2022, which will allow you to overcome the barrier of 10,000 million euros, according to the figures of the General Budgets of the State that has presented this Wednesday the Minister of Finance, María Jesús
Huntsman.
The government project sets as a priority of the defense policy on the European scenario, at a time of NATO crisis after the defeat of the international coalition in Afghanistan and the United States Strategic Giro to Asia.
In this context, the main European security project is the formation of an EU operational army.
Revivated by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, after the accelerated evacuation of Kabul, the idea has been well received by Spain.
The minister, Margarita Robles, has seconded it on occasion, and has also made it the Chief of Staff of Defense, Teodoro López Calderón, in a recent interview with the world.
“Impulse of the Leadership of Spain in the progress of the Joint Security and Defense Policy, which is configured as the priority political framework,” says the draft budgets.
The document clarifies that “it will be maintained at the same time the commitment to the Atlantic Alliance,” but there is no greater explanation and for many years the economic collaboration of Spain with NATO is one of the lowest of all allied countries.
Received, a date is cited in the budgets that already crave as a key to the achievement of targets throughout the Government, also in defense: the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council in the second semester of 2023. The Presidency coincides with
The end of the legislature and is sure that Pedro Sánchez will want to make it the showcase of his management with which to close his mandate and be in a good position for the general elections, which must be held at the end of that 2023 or early 2024.
The rise in the defense budget is in accordance with the overall increase in spending, although it just receives European money from recovery, transformation and resilience funds.
For example, “real investments” of defense are foreseen (that is, acquisitions of material and armament) worth 3,515 million euros (an increase of 19.1% compared to last year), which has among other objectives “support and
Strengthen the industrial and technological base of Spain “;
But of that amount only 26 million are of European funds.
In general, the purpose of the government in defense is “to achieve budget stability that allows adequate planning in the allocation and support of the armed forces.”
This stability does not happen both for the increase in spending, which although it is produced is moderate, but as its rationalization, prioritizing modernization.
The number of troop and marinery maximum troops remains stable at 79,000.
On the other hand, cross-cutting gender equality policies have a wide impact in defense, which devotes space in the draft budgets to this matter and is marked as a goal “to promote the presence of women at all scales to get them to acquire positions
greater responsibility within the ministry “.