<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The French ambassador to Spain, Kareen Rispal, warned this Tuesday of the need to create an "integrated European defense industry that avoids duplication" and asserted that her country could extend its nuclear deterrence, "under certain conditions," to the rest of its "European partners."</strong></h4> "Now the challenge is to know whether the Spanish and French are willing to do even more to join forces and confront, as Europeans, what threatens us," Rispal stated during a breakfast organized in Madrid by the Diálogo association in collaboration with the French Embassy. "Our two countries are closely aligned on the vast majority of the challenges we must face," the ambassador continued during the event, entitled "The link between France and Spain at the service of Europe," which took place at the Intercontinental Hotel in front of around 100 guests, including members of the Dialogue Association, business executives, and representatives of Spanish, French, and European public agencies. "In this new context" of growing global uncertainty and the need for a more autonomous and united Europe to defend its interests, "France advocates, as always, but now with a greater sense of urgency, for the emergence of a Europe that controls its decisions and is capable of better defending its interests," continued Kareen Rispal. Regarding the defense of the European Union, the ambassador spoke of the need for "the emergence of an integrated European defense industry, one that avoids duplication and to which Member States, without falling into protectionism, prioritize." Rispal also warned that French nuclear deterrence "will remain a national tool," but "nothing prevents us from thinking that, under certain conditions, the level of protection it offers could be extended to our European partners." Rispal took advantage of her remarks to also discuss the issue of competitiveness and the implementation of the Draghi report, a task in which she believes the two countries must respond quickly to prevent Europe from falling behind. “France and Spain, each with their respective Commissioner, Teresa Ribera and Stéphane Séjourné, have a decisive and complementary role to play, which places them at the forefront of the European response to reindustrialization,” she declared. For her part, Loreto Ordóñez, president of Diálogo, stated that her association “has been helping to strengthen relations between Spain and France for almost 42 years” and that, “in light of the geopolitical context and the urgent need to build a stronger Europe, its mission to contribute to strengthening Europe through the Spanish-French bond makes more sense than ever.” Diálogo is an association whose mission is to strengthen European integration through the Spanish-French bond, and whose honorary presidents are the King of Spain and the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron.
