The Diplomat in Spain

The Diplomat

The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, participated yesterday in Brussels in the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union (FAC) in Defense format, convened by the High Representative, Josep Borrell, and which was dedicated, above all, to the support of the European Union to Ukraine through the European Peace Support Fund and the EUMAM Ukraine Assistance Mission for the training of Ukrainian military personnel.

During her speech, Robles reiterated “Spain’s firm support for these initiatives” and recalled, with regard to EUMAM Ukraine, that Spain “has already trained more than a thousand Ukrainians and will reach the annual target of two thousand trained troops much earlier than planned”. She also stated that the military hospital in Zaragoza has already treated “more than sixty” Ukrainian wounded and recalled that a few days ago several Ukrainian military medical personnel arrived at the hospital to be trained in the implantation of prostheses. Before the beginning of the Council, Robles assured the journalists that Spain will maintain its “absolute and total support” to Ukraine “within our availabilities”, but reiterated, as on previous occasions, that “on the issue of fighters, Spain does not have the F-16s” requested by Kyiv.

During the second session, the defense ministers discussed the recent crisis in Sudan, military missions in the Sahel, cooperation in the Gulf of Guinea and the evolution of Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO).

According to Robles, the recent evacuation of people from Sudan has highlighted the urgent need for the European Union to have the appropriate instruments to deal with this type of crisis and she assured, in this regard, that during the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the Union, the elements foreseen in the Strategic Compass will be promoted, especially the Rapid Deployment Capability, with the carrying out of its first real exercise, and associated with it, the improved Military Planning and Conduct Capability.

The meeting concluded with a working lunch with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, dedicated to open access to strategic domains, such as the high seas, space, cyberspace and airspace, areas particularly suitable for cooperation between the two organizations. The next ministerial meeting in this format will take place in August in Spain, under the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the Union.