<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>Podemos MPs have called on the Government to reject “any increase in present or future military spending” at the upcoming NATO Summit in The Hague and to “denounce the North Atlantic Treaty before the United States government with the aim of withdrawing Spain from NATO “within the established timeframe” for this purpose.</strong></h4> In a non-legislative motion presented on May 20, former minister, Secretary General of Podemos, and spokesperson for the Joint Group, Ione Belarra, recalls that “the 32nd NATO Summit will be held in The Hague on June 24 and 25, within the framework of which a commitment to a substantial increase in military spending by member countries is intended.” “This circumstance was already made clear at the informal meeting of Foreign Ministers in preparation for the Summit, where Mark Rutte, Secretary General of NATO, clearly stated that, specifically "Spain would significantly increase its military spending as a result of the summit," she continued. This is compounded, she added, by the "announcement made by the Prime Minister on April 22nd, proposing a 10 billion euro increase in military spending, diverting the substantial portion of the funds from the Regional Financing System (which supports public health, education, and social services) and from the European funds originally earmarked for other purposes, particularly for ecological transition projects." "This entire move has occurred by resorting to budgetary modifications, bypassing the Congress of Deputies, and with an extended General State Budget, which did not even remotely contemplate such large volumes of military spending," warned the former Minister of Social Rights and the 2030 Agenda in Pedro Sánchez's previous coalition government (between 2021 and 2023). "The proposal seeks nothing more than to ensure that the military-industrial complex maintain its huge profits and increase US exports while Donald Trump launches a trade war against the world, because let's not forget that the US accounts for 42% of international military trade, and any increase in spending will necessarily be driven by increased trade flows with this power," she added. "Likewise, the State of Israel is one of the world's largest producers of weapons, in many cases involving material that has been tested in the genocide that this occupying power is perpetrating in Palestine, and which would be reinforced in resources if NATO countries were to launch an arms race," she continued. According to Belarra, "in recent years, NATO has proven to be an ineffective and useless structure for European interests, starting with conflict prevention and the achievement or construction of peace, which is a strategic interest of the first order." "Far from guaranteeing the stability and security of the peoples of Europe, it has proven to be at the heart of the threats to that security and has prevented the construction of a "a collective and cooperative security framework based on the search for peaceful solutions to conflicts and the defense of international law, sovereignty, and the well-being of peoples," she stated. "For all these reasons, it is necessary for the Government of Spain to make an express commitment not to increase military spending at the upcoming NATO Summit on June 24 and 25, as well as to abandon its international commitments to the US militaristic power," she stated. For all these reasons, the Podemos motion urges the Government to "refuse to agree to any increase in present or future military spending at the NATO Summit in The Hague on June 24 and 25" and to "agree to withdraw from the North Atlantic Treaty, proceeding to communicate said withdrawal to the Government of the United States of America, in compliance with the provisions of Article 13 of said Treaty, once Spain has left NATO within the period provided therein." Likewise, it urges the Executive to "proceed with communicating the non-renewal of the Defense Cooperation Agreement between the Kingdom of Spain and the United States." of America, by which the US armed forces use military installations in Spanish territory, particularly those of Morón de la Frontera and Rota.”
