Spain proposes to NATO a way out of the clash for leaving its companies out of the defense forum

The Government hopes to resolve in the next few days the open conflict within NATO for not having Spanish companies in the last forum with representatives of the military industry, a decision to which Minister Margarita Robles reacted by blocking the approval of her Plan Defense Production Action.

Oliver Thansan
Oliver Thansan
26 June 2023 Monday 10:35
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Spain proposes to NATO a way out of the clash for leaving its companies out of the defense forum

The Government hopes to resolve in the next few days the open conflict within NATO for not having Spanish companies in the last forum with representatives of the military industry, a decision to which Minister Margarita Robles reacted by blocking the approval of her Plan Defense Production Action. Thus, the Spanish delegation will present "in the next few days" a text proposal that guarantees that there will be "transparency, inclusiveness and equity" in the selection of companies in future meetings, sources allied to La Vanguardia explained.

The Spanish Executive considers that these forums, although informal, are crucial for putting governments and companies in contact with each other in the midst of the arms race in Europe and does not want to find that its companies in the sector are not counted on when calling them. Various sources point out that the last meeting focused on the supply of ammunition, but the Spanish government assures that no explanation was given.

The Minister of Defense referred to this conflict yesterday during a visit to the Indra headquarters in Madrid and warned that the NATO industrial plan "does not work if Spain is not in it" and highlighted the "muscle, potential and talent" of the Spanish defense industry. In parallel, through diplomatic channels, the Spanish delegation in the military organization has advanced to the Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, that if his text proposal is accepted, the matter will be settled. The Alliance's Defense Production Action Plan is one of the documents that allied leaders are expected to approve at the summit to be held in Vilnius on July 11-12.