The Government fulfills its commitments in Defense amid criticism from its partners of arms exports to Arabia and the Emirates

• Defense PSOE and PP agree in Congress to raise defense spending to 2% with the vote against Podemos

• Government The socialist barons isolate themselves from the ballast of the Sánchez brand: it drops 17 points in just over three years

Defense

is a sensitive matter for the

.

Due to the commitments and investment that it requires, among other things, as well as the tension that it generates with its partners.

That it is a capital matter among the Executive's priorities is reflected in an internal report from La Moncloa, known as

-Government accountability report-, which states that the highest percentage of compliance with respect to the commitments acquired by the Government is in matters of Defense Modernization and military support, with

.

A remarkable level, while Pedro Sánchez's partners maintain their censorship for Spain's arms export policy, specifically to countries such as

or

.

The internal figures of La Moncloa show that the Government has

-among investiture commitments, the government pact, with groups in Congress, with Europe for the Recovery Plan-, of which it considers fulfilled as of December 22

-Pedro

Sánchez will present this report today in an appearance in La Moncloa-.

In other words, compliance in Defense matters is

points higher than the average.

Among the matters that the Executive considers fulfilled are the transformation and modernization of the capabilities of the Armed Forces, as well as promoting the Defense industry as an element that generates employment and wealth;

try to cover the quantitative needs of the Armies and the Navy seeking excellence;

develop the r+d+i policy in the field of Defence;

promote and strengthen the Europe of defense;

ensure and improve the capabilities of the Armed Forces to prevent and fight future health crises... In total, Moncloa sets

the number of commitments acquired this legislature in Defense matters at

Gender violence, youth and FP

After Defence, the second area with the highest degree of compliance are measures against gender violence and those relating to support for youth (

) and professional training and employment (

).

But while the Government exhibits this high degree of execution, the Defense continues to be a point of friction with its partners.

Not only because of the increase in Budgets in this regard, something that United We Can end up accepting, but in aspects such as the export of arms to countries such as Arabia, the Emirates or Qatar.

The

have spent years demanding the halting of arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, a demand shared by ERC and Bildu, but ignored by the PSOE.

"A democracy that wants to be normalized cannot sell weapons to regimes that violate Human Rights," they stated from United We Can in 2021, already being part of the Government.

In 2021, the latest data available for a whole year, the value of defense material exports made by Spain totaled

compared to

the previous year.

In 2019, the amount amounted to

.

In the last decade, the value of exports stood at an average of

;

in the current legislature that average is

.

And in the three years arms have been sold to Arabia and the Emirates, worth

million and

, respectively.

In the latest

, prepared by the

, exports to Saudi Arabia worth 1

are collected in security systems remote control for weapons of various calibers and their accessories, mortar grenades, 155 mm artillery shells.

and its components, among other materials.

or

to the United Arab Emirates in combat and training limpet mines and their accessories, remote control systems for weapons of various calibers and their accessories, a 120 mm mortar.

and its trailer, 60 and 120 mm mortar shells.

explosives, lighting and fumigants and shots and cartridges for light weapons of various calibers.

Also to Azarbaijan

These exports are defended by the Government and censured by its partners.

“We are at the moment to request the suspension of arms transfers to Saudi Arabia and the states that participate in that coalition;

of course, also to

, that State that is following in the footsteps of Saudi Arabia in record violations of human rights and war crimes",

, deputy of EH Bildu, in the Defense Commission on November 15 that dealt with this matter.

«We propose to suspend any export of arms that poses a risk of violation of human rights.

This would involve, for example, all the actors involved in the

war .

It is something that we have already claimed, but that we want to put back on the table, since we continue to see that there are arms exports to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates”, objected

(ERC).

“Commercial criteria or the criteria of favoring the military industry are put before humanitarian criteria or the impact that these exports may have for security or peace in the destination regions of these weapons.

These exports are worrying both because of the level of regional tension and because of the armed conflict in Yemen, in which the armies of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have carried out indiscriminate attacks on the civilian population," was the criticism of

(Unidas Podemos) .

.

Faced with criticism, the Executive defends that based on the information "new arrivals in mid-2018, the analysis of operations destined for countries of the Arab League coalition were the subject of parallel work that has been carried out materialized and crystallized in the approval of the

verification instrument , which will probably find the perfect case of application in exports to sensitive or very sensitive countries”.

The Secretary of State for Commerce,

, stated that "all supply operations of parts, repairable parts, spare parts, technical assistance and technology transfer for the aircraft of the Armed Forces of the Arab League coalition countries, both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates responded to the interest of the Spanish Government in maintaining the great competitiveness and specialization of the Spanish industry in this sector”.

They reiterate from the Government that all these exports to "sensitive" destinations are "object of the most scrupulous and strictest analysis."

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

• Saudi Arabia

• Ministry of Defence

• United We Can

• bildu

• CKD

• Europe

• Pedro Sanchez

• Yemen

• PSOE

• Qatar

• ERTE