The Diplomat in Spain

Spanish soldiers in Iraq.

The Diplomat. 15/08/2018

The Spanish Government has begun to take the first steps to lead the new assistance mission to Tunisia under the sponsorship of NATO, in what will be the active mission number 20 in which Spanish military participate.

This new anti-jihadist mission will focus in a first phase in the training of Tunisian soldiers for special operations to combat terrorism. The Spanish participation will begin with three officers in a first phase.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, recalled in his first parliamentary appearance the effort that the Armed Forces are carrying out to contribute to peace in the world.

In 2014, for example, 1,550 troops were mobilized, while Spain now has almost 2,200 military personnel abroad. Thus, Spain participates in 19 international missions: four of the United Nations, eleven of the European Union, one of NATO, two bilateral support missions to France and one in the framework of an international coalition in Iraq.

«Of course we will continue to contribute to the Atlantic Alliance, but also to defend and promote European defense initiatives such as those that France has presented at the last summit», said Borrell.

According to the head of the Spanish Diplomacy, the advances of the European Union in terms of security and defense «are precisely in line with the burden-sharing that we are being asked for insistently from the other side of the Atlantic», in reference to the Trump Administration.