Eduardo González
This past Wednesday, the Council of Ministers approved the agreement that extends until December 31, 2024 the participation of units of the Armed Forces and military observers in military missions abroad.
“In these complex moments at a global level, with special impact on our immediate environment, it is the Government’s intention to maintain the contribution to international stability through the missions of the Armed Forces abroad,” declared the Executive. “These missions, in line with the principles and objectives of Spanish foreign policy, are carried out in accordance with the principles of responsibility and solidarity and integrating human security as an essential element in the prevention of conflicts, in accordance with what is established in the National Defense Directive in force and within the framework of the United Nations Charter,” it added.
In general, the Government plans to maintain the level of participation of the Armed Forces in Foreign Operations during 2024, including continuity in the command of UNIFIL Lebanon, EUTM Mali, EUNAVFOR Atalanta and the NATO Mission in Iraq (NMI), which Spain currently exercises.
Additionally, in 2024, as a consequence of the implementation of the new NATO Forces model (NFM) and in accordance with the rotations and responsibilities assigned by the Alliance, Spain will be responsible for the leadership of the Combat Group in the NATO Forward Presence in Slovakia, within the combined reinforcement of the allies on the eastern flank of Europe. In this way, the current deployment within the Euro-Atlantic territory will be increased.
Likewise, depending on the collective decisions adopted by the Alliance in the face of the evolution of the crisis in Ukraine to reinforce deterrence on NATO’s Eastern flank, there could be temporary increases in the capabilities deployed or variations in the degrees of availability, in in the event that certain collective defense plans were activated.
The missions of the Armed Forces and the military missions of the Civil Guard abroad, the extension of which is authorized, have been approved by the Parliament, in compliance with the provisions of the 2005 Organic Law of National Defense.
Specifically, is extended until December 31, 2024 the authorization for the participation of the Spanish Armed Forces and Civil Guard in the UNIFIL mission (Lebanon), with 700 troops, including the personnel generated as a result of the assumption of command by Spain; EUFOR ALTHEA (Bosnia and Herzegovina), with three troops (with the possibility of slightly increasing the number of troops for demining training tasks): EUMAM (Ukraine), with 300 troops on average, most of them in national territory and two military in the EU MPCC (Military Planning and Conduct Capability); and EUNAVFOR ATALANTA (Horn of Africa), with 375 troops, including the ESP-OHQ Headquarters in Rota for the Operation Command and two deployments (VIGMA D4) in the intermonsoon periods.
Likewise, is extended participation in EUTM SOMALIA (Somalia and Kenya), 21 effective; EUTM RCA (Central African Republic), with nine; EUTM MALI (Mali), with 160 troops (which represents a reduction compared to 2023, due to the strategic review and the closure of Koulikoro Training Center), under the leadership of Spain until May 2024; Operation Support to Mali / Ivory Detachment (Senegal), with 90 troops, one aircraft deployed and another available in national territory; and the Coalition against DAESH/ISIS (Iraq), with 400 troops, including the current effort in personnel and capabilities for NM-I as a consequence of the assumption of command of the mission by Spain until May 2024. Precisely, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, traveled yesterday to Baghdad to, among other objectives, meet with the Spanish troops stationed at the multinational Union III Base within the framework of the NATO Mission in Iraq.
In addition, participation in various reinforced surveillance activities and missions for deterrence and defense within the Euro-Atlantic area is authorized. Among these activities, the Alliance’s Advanced Presence and Reinforcement of the Eastern flank of Europe stands out, with a maximum total of 1,700 military personnel associated with the implementation of the new NATO Deterrence and Defense posture agreed at the Madrid Summit. The authorization of the Council of Ministers includes the continuity of the deployment of ground forces in Latvia and new contingents in Slovakia and Romania and, where appropriate, in other allied countries that this future Spanish nucleus of Great Unity supports. It also includes the provision of a new rotation for anti-aircraft defense during the second semester in Estonia.
This chapter also includes NATO or bilateral standing naval groups (SNF), included in the Maritime Component of the High Readiness Forces (VJTF) of the ARF and the FSR; and NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defense (NATO IAMD-Persistent Effort), with the tasks of air policing, air surveillance (radar surveillance and support for air and anti-missile defense in the Baltic Countries and Turkey.
