Two combat aircraft in flight simulate a refueling operation with a tanker aircraft at the parade on October 12 in Madrid.Daniel González (EFE)
Spain must make a “very important effort” to reach its goal of reaching 2% of GDP in military spending in 2029, as it committed to NATO. This emerges from a study by the Alternativeas Foundation, one of the most important Spanish think tanks with a social democratic orientation and specializing in the study of public policy and foreign and European policy. The document is entitled “Increasing the defense budget in Spain”. Development and prospects within the EU and NATO – warns that the most recently published investment forecasts by the Ministry of Defense up to 2026 “are viewed as unrealistic in view of the stated objectives”. [llegar al 2% en 2029]So you force an extremely high level of additional growth [del presupuesto] from 2027 and difficult to accept.” The authors recommend that the Defense Department change its forecasts “to make growth less abrupt.” Or consider extraordinary loans in your forecasts.
When it comes to quantifying the always debated defense spending, the study recalls that although the Ministry’s budget for 2021 was currently 9,409 million euros, in the same year NATO allocated 12,546 million to Spain and the SIPRI (International Research Institute for Peace) from Stockholm, 16,526; Differences that amount to 0.78% of GDP in the first case and 1.4% in the latter case. The truth, he points out, is that “the budget allocation [de los últimos años] was tight, which forced us to resort to alternative financing options, which in many cases lacked the necessary transparency, coherence, interpretive simplicity and effectiveness, with the deviations in the final budget in some years exceeding 30% of the original budget.
The use of loans from the Ministry of Industry to finance large defense projects, known as the German model, “led to a financial collapse of the mechanism due to the demands that the payments of the affected programs had on other needs”, in particular in support of the armed forces’ systems and equipment , “destroy the inner balance”. In a scenario like the current one, with a significant increase in defense allocations, he adds, “the continuity of this model should be taken into account,” also while maintaining coordination between military and industrial policies.
The authors of the study argue for “a real state pact to create a legal framework that gives stability to the financial horizon” for defense, so that military investments receive “predictability and stability” and bring the ministry’s original budget closer. to the actual expenses. It is about restoring the spirit of the armed forces foundation laws of the 1980s and 1990s, something that the major parties have always defended but never agreed to. In his opinion, “the two main objectives of defense policy are the modernization of the armed forces with systems that allow maintaining technological advantage and the strengthening of the defense industry as an essential element in support of operational capabilities and as a driver of innovation and technological development. “
Military projects
Analyzing the new European funds for financing military projects, the report indicates that Spain could potentially receive an amount equal to 10.09% of the total, which would provide relief in areas such as research and development, the development of weapons systems or the Procurement of ammunition would mean. At the same time, however, it will have to contribute up to 2,140 million euros for prototype development projects in the coming years. “Although the number we can get is not very meaningful nationwide […] It will have a significant impact on our industry,” he emphasizes. What it will do is force the Defense Department and companies “to be more active, to be able to reach agreements and, given the competition that will open up between companies from different countries to obtain these funds to work with other European partners.” The study also advocates a review of “self-limitation of troop contributions to deployments abroad,” currently 3,000 at a time. He also argues that the state plays “a fundamental role as an intelligent customer and as a driving force” of a military industry that creates about 22,000 jobs and accounts for about 11.5 billion euros annually, almost 1% of the national GDP and 6% of the country’s gross domestic product industrial GDP. Until now, the authors warn, the regulations applicable to this sector have been “too rigid and too cautious” when it comes to protecting its technological assets from foreign competitors.
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