Sánchez and Feijóo put Spain on track for its biggest increase in military spending

BarcelonaThe increase in military spending is back on the table with the rearmament that Europe is preparing to face the Russian threat. For this reason, the Spanish government is seeking an understanding with the other groups, including the PP, which could be key considering the reluctance among the PSOE's partners in Congress. The president of the state executive, Pedro Sánchez, announced this Thursday that on March 13 he will call all the parliamentary groups to address the situation of the war in Ukraine, with the exception of Vox. Upon his arrival at the extraordinary summit held in Brussels, Sánchez assured that he will speak with the groups to "exchange opinions and reflections on the challenges facing Europe" and on the "approach that the Spanish government has", and that he will convey the agreements of the European Council this Thursday. On the table will be the increase in military spending that the European summit will mark this Thursday. An increase that has been supported by the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, in an appearance from the Belgian capital after meeting with several European popular leaders.

"I will call all the leaders of the parliamentary groups, the head of the opposition and the rest of the parliamentary groups, except for Vox; Vox will not be in the equation because we already have a very clear idea of what their vision is," the Spanish president stressed from Brussels, pointing out the complicity between Vlad'. However, Feijóo, in turn, has regretted that Sánchez has not presented a prior plan to Congress to mark Spain's position: "Most prime ministers give explanations of what they are going to do; the Spanish one does not," he said, and he has assured that the "multi-million dollar investments in defence" that are outlined must be addressed. "NATO countries must comply with the agreements on investment in security that we committed to in 2014 in Madrid," he stressed.

For this reason, he added that "the role of Spain, one of the two countries that most fail to comply with NATO commitments, is especially relevant." In fact, Feijóo had been demanding for weeks to have dialogue with the Spanish president on the future of Ukraine, after the arrival at the White House of the American president, Donald Trump, who has announced the withdrawal of military support to Ukraine and has left Europe out of the peace negotiations. According to the leader of the popular party, nobody "knows" the position of the Spanish government, which he has criticized for not being "capable of obtaining the approval" of the increase in military spending: "When I have the government position I will be very grateful if you transfer it to Congress," he stressed, putting his finger on the sore spot due to the discrepancies.

Feijóo, who has "strongly" spoken out against Trump's tariffs and has asked for the presence of the EU in the peace, has defended continuing to cultivate relations with the US. Despite criticism of Vox for its position on Trump, the Galician leader has attacked Sánchez for the "apartheid" that "all forces except the third are cited" in reference to Santiago Abascal's party.

The arithmetic

The goal of moving forward to spend the equivalent of 2% of GDP on Defense has generated discrepancies within the block of the multinational majority that gathers around Sánchez. Podemos is radically against it and Sumar had been reluctant, despite having recently opened up to studying it. ERC and Junts have also traditionally turned up their noses, but the Republicans avoid confirming what they would vote on in future proposals and want to wait for any initiative to be finalized. For all this, the Spanish president could seek support from the PP, aligned with the increase in spending.

As for Vox, although Sánchez isolates them from the round of contacts and they are aligned with Donald Trump, they are also in favor of supporting the military increase. Sources from the far-right party clarify to ARA that "we have been demanding it alone for years" and add that "Spain should have increased, but Sánchez has not wanted to."