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2:07
President of Spain proposes greater investment in military defense
During an informal meeting of heads of state held in France, the president of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, highlighted the importance of increasing investment in military defense, due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Similarly, he emphasized that it is important to strengthen the foreign policy of all European countries while highlighting the importance of doing so hand in hand with NATO.
"The resounding message is that we have to increase investment in the defense chapter and strengthen the common foreign and security policy," he said.
NATO and investment in defense
Sánchez took advantage of his speech at the Palace of Versailles to recall the agreement with NATO to invest 2% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the member countries in military spending in a decade. Likewise, he acknowledged that Spain has committed to being in 2024 at 1.2%.
This call is joined by the United States, which has also committed to countries contributing 2% of their GDP, especially at this time when Russia is in the full invasion of Ukraine and has threatened countries that intervene in favor of Kyiv.
Given this situation, Germany has decided to invest 10 billion euros in military investment, while France spends around 50 billion, while Italy allocates 30 billion to defense.
voices against
Meanwhile, the Podemos party is against intervention by Spain or the European Union in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, assuring that the Government of Pedro Sánchez has not done what is necessary to mediate and counteract the climate of war.
While the Minister of Social Rights has stated that dialogue must be committed and that "it is not a matter of whether or not to send weapons, but rather whether we are willing to defend ourselves by military means or to seriously commit everything to diplomatic channels.
Despite these pronouncements, Spain confirmed that in the coming days it will send more weapons to Ukraine, to be used in defense against the Russian invasion that began on February 24 and has claimed a significant number of civilian lives and thousands of displaced people.
