The Diplomat
The President of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, will today receive the Swedish Ambassador, Teppo Tauriainen, and the Finnish Ambassador, Sari Rautio, a few days before the NATO Summit is held in Madrid, at which the two Nordic countries’ application to join the Alliance is on the table.
Feijóo’s meeting with the ambassadors will be held at the proposal of the diplomats themselves, and will take place at the national headquarters of the PP, in Calle Génova.
At the meeting, the leader of the ‘populares’ will discuss with the representatives of Sweden and Finland the state of their candidacy, which has already been formally presented and which is still being blocked by Turkey; and he will analyse the situation of the war in Ukraine and its consequences for Europe.
Feijóo is also expected to discuss with the ambassadors the proposal he sent to the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, a couple of days ago to establish a State pact on security and defence.
With this pact, the PP is seeking to protect Spain’s permanence in the Atlantic Alliance, and an improvement in the international defence positions of our country, according to sources from the main opposition party.
In ‘Genoa’ they warn that their request for a pact has not yet been answered by the “socialist wing of the Government”, since, as they point out, “the Podemos wing not only doubts” Spain’s presence in NATO but “even questions the legality of the contracts awarded for the organisation of the summit itself”, according to sources from the party, quoted by Europa Press.
The PP is awaiting this reply and regrets that “it is easier to have meetings and face common problems with leaders from Sweden and Finland than with the leaders of Spain”, the same sources stressed.
In its offer of a pact, the PP proposes “guaranteeing the protection of the entire national territory, with special attention to the non-peninsular territories” of Ceuta, Melilla and the Canary Islands. “We are proposing to recall this commitment at the NATO summit in Madrid so that all member states have the shield and umbrella of NATO to protect the integrity of Spanish territory,” Feijóo said a couple of days ago.
Furthermore, in its proposal, the PP advocates strengthening Spain’s position in collective security, especially NATO; boosting the development of common defence within the framework of the EU; and improving the working conditions of the Spanish military.
It also proposes the approval of a special fund of 3,000 million euros to be financed with budgetary savings identified by the Airef for the urgent purchase and supply of military material and equipment with which, among other things, to replenish the capabilities ceded for the defence of Ukraine and increase them according to the new scenarios”, reads the text of the document that the PP has sent to the government.
In the same section on guaranteeing “adequate funding for national defence”, the PP proposes approving a National Defence Funding Law that “guarantees economic sufficiency and stability in the programming and sustainability of our military capabilities, creating a stable legal framework for long-term budgetary investments”.
He added that it is necessary to fulfil the “commitment acquired with NATO to move towards the 2% of GDP guideline for defence by 2030, dedicating 20% of expenditure to investment programmes in equipment and R&D&I”.
