The Government promotes a plan to introduce 400 companies into the defense sector

Barcelona"Europe must be strategically autonomous in everything possible, also in the defense sector". The Government announces the creation of a new program to train 400 Catalan companies so that they can enter the security and defense sector. As announced this Friday by the Minister of Business and Labor, Miquel Sàmper, the new program – called Dual Technology & Industry Readiness Programme– will be aimed at introducing SMEs that are dedicated to automotive, space, metallurgy and machinery with dual technologies into the market. The plan foresees offering sessions where key aspects will be discussed for those who wish to invest in the defense and security market, such as the various certifications necessary to operate, the homologation processes that must be carried out, and the access routes to state and European contracting processes.

"This is not a race of one day, or two, or four," assured the Minister of Business and Labor, who added: "Until a new moment of peace and tranquility arrives, we must be prepared." Sàmper's announcement coincided with the first day of a series of meetings that aim to explore the opportunities opening up in the defense sector on a business scale, which also included the presence of the Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu. The minister expressed himself along the same lines as the minister and said that, "in the current global context, we are obliged to defend our values; that is why strengthening Europe is so important." "Ten years ago, an event to talk about defense sector opportunities was imaginable, but today's world demands it," recognized Hereu.

Reindustrialize Europe

During the plan's presentation, Sàmper assured that at a time of "profound changes" like the present, the administration "must be prepared". Hereu also called for learning to take advantage of the current context: "Since we need to make this commitment, now we must try to maximize its industrial return". Furthermore, he assured that the State's "strategic autonomy" in defense matters must be favored and explained that industrial policy is currently in "full deployment". "We are not talking about a one-year situation; this era is coming, which will mean many years of effort," added the Minister of Industry and Tourism.

The Government's initiative has been well received by the sectors invited to explore security and defense. This is the case, for example, of the Catalan Automotive Industry Cluster, which will participate in the organization of the program's sessions and which has valued "very positively" the Generalitat's willingness to position the Catalan industrial fabric in this new market. "The increase in defense spending at the European level represents an unavoidable strategic opportunity to diversify and strengthen the competitiveness of our industry," they assure. The metalworking employers' associations, Cecot and Secartys, will also help in the organization of the specific sessions, as reported by the Department of Business and Work.

The course, promoted by Acció and with the collaboration of the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, the Ministry of Defense, the School of Industrial Organization (EOI) and the AeroS cluster, will last seven hours and will be taught in person in Barcelona, Girona, Tarragona, and Lleida. For now, several sessions are already scheduled for the next four months. Although the plan has been set for 400 companies, Sàmper has indicated that there could be more depending on the course's "success". The program plans to address initiatives in the fields of awareness, business cooperation, market knowledge, financing, and international actions. "It is very important to reindustrialize Europe and Spain; and reindustrializing means understanding the entire value chain," precise Hereu.