The President of the Government Concludes the Round of Meetings with Parliamentary Groups

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez stated that "Spain, as a country committed to the multilateral order and to Europe, will always be part of the solutions, and we are logically willing to contribute to that solution, which must involve strengthening the multilateral order, strengthening Europe, and achieving a just and lasting peace in Ukraine."

In his appearance before the press at the end of the round of meetings with the various parliamentary groups, the Prime Minister stated that "the great lesson we must learn from everything that is happening on the other side of the Atlantic, and also on Europe's eastern front, is that perhaps for many years Europe has delegated and outsourced security and defense to other actors," and that "it is time for Europe to step forward and increase its security and defense capabilities," because "no one is better at taking care of us than ourselves."

This, he asserted, is the approach of the Spanish Government, and therefore, "we applaud and support all the steps President von der Leyen is taking to strengthen Europe's security and defense pillars, which for many years we have not strengthened as we should in the face of threats such as those currently facing much of Europe."

Defense Spending

The President of the Government shared with the parliamentary groups that "Spain is prepared to meet its defense budget of 2% of Gross Domestic Product" and "to advance our commitment to reach that 2% by 2029," as agreed at the last NATO Summit. "We are doing this out of commitment to Europe and we are also doing it out of solidarity with those countries (Nordic, Baltic, and Central European) that are demanding the solidarity that we are also demanding during this health emergency," he emphasized.

Sánchez explained that, for any of the societies in Eastern Europe, the Nordic countries, or the Baltics, "the threat demands a response where deterrence relies, above all, on investment in defense, but in Spain's case, this is not the case." "Our threat is not a Russia that will bring its troops across the Pyrenees to the Iberian Peninsula," but rather a more hybrid threat, one that involves cyberattacks, the fight against terrorism, civil protection, and also some aspects of defense that we must address. Therefore, "what we have to do is not just talk about defense, but fundamentally talk about security." And when we define which expenses may or may not be counted as a public deficit and not be included in these fiscal rules, we have to talk not only about defense but also about security, a much broader concept.

Furthermore, the Prime Minister has argued that the new financial instrument proposed by the EU, with a budget of €150 billion, "should not only be loans, but also transfers."

Sánchez also pointed out that the important thing is to "invest better and invest together," and that this "can also be an opportunity for Spain," because the commitment we are going to deploy to a larger budget for security and defense "will be a commitment to technology and to the industry of our country" and, therefore, "it is a time for startups, technological entrepreneurs, small and medium-sized companies, accompanied by large corporations linked to the defense industry, to take a step forward and we can all contribute to this great technological leap that Europe needs and that - I am convinced - Spain can lead."

No cuts in social policy

In response to those who argue that allocating resources to security and defense means diverting them from other areas, the president recalled that "fortunately, Spain is growing" and was emphatic in stating that "we will continue investing in social policy and we will not cut a single cent in social policy or in social cohesion," to meet this commitment we have with Europe and also with our own country in the areas of security and defense.

The president thanked all groups for attending today's meetings in Moncloa and "for the dialogue we have promoted" on Ukraine and Europe, because "beyond political differences and disagreements, we all share the same objectives, which have to do with how we, from Spain, contribute to peace in Ukraine, to the stability and security of Europe, and, without a doubt, also to the prosperity of Spanish society as a whole."

Regarding the situation in Ukraine, Sánchez conveyed to the groups that "a window of opportunity has opened to achieve a ceasefire" and that the position of Spain and Europe is "to continue supporting Ukraine so that it arrives at the negotiating table as strongly as possible." "Spain is doing so more than anyone else, being one of the main contributors to peace and the defense of Ukraine," he emphasized. In his opinion, "any just and lasting peace must strengthen the multilateral order and, therefore, not reward the aggressor, because that would mean opening the door to future aggression" and "must serve to strengthen the European Union and also Ukraine," he concluded.