Forty years have just passed since that May 30, 1982 when Spain became the 16th member of NATO and, shortly, on June 29 and 30, Madrid will host the second Alliance summit held in our country .
In this time, Spain has strengthened that common front that is NATO, and that defends the principles that define European societies. Spain is a reliable partner of the Alliance and has demonstrated its commitment by participating in the main missions entrusted to it and with the required means. Our country participated in the first mission in 1992 and, since then, some 125,000 Spanish soldiers have been deployed in 22 operations in places such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Libya, the Gulf of Aden, the Horn of Africa, Afghanistan and the Mediterranean , in which 119 Spaniards have lost their lives, including 2 interpreters.
NATO has helped Spain to occupy a prominent place in transatlantic relations at a time when, as we are seeing with the war in Ukraine, collective security is essential for the well-being of our societies.
Terrorism, regional conflicts, organized crime, cybersecurity, energy security… are some of the challenges facing European defense. Challenges that the member states of the EU must face with urgency and autonomy, in order to remain relevant players on the world stage and defend European interests at a global level.
The Strategic Compass for the security and defense of Europe in the next ten years points in that direction. At a time when we have a war on European soil, this EU plan involves increasing action and defense capabilities in accordance with the times we live in. Reality has shown that there is no alternative to NATO to defend Europe from external aggression, but it is imperative that Europe has military autonomy with the capacity to react on its territory.
As the High Representative for European Foreign Policy, and Vice President of the Commission, Josep Borrell, defends, it is not a question of creating a “European NATO”, but of providing the EU countries with a force capacity to confront your own challenges. Reality has revealed to us that there is no natural law that preserves democracy, freedoms or human rights, it is we who must protect them.
Europe needs its own autonomy from its partners and competitors in a multipolar world in defense of its own interests. And for this it is necessary to advance and deepen the Common Security and Defense Policy, as the key instrument to expand the action of the European Union in this matter.
Spain is one of the countries that makes the most effort to promote consensus to achieve greater integration between the armed forces of the EU countries. But this development of the Common Security Policy must not undermine the effectiveness of NATO. On the contrary. An EU with greater responsibilities and capacities in security and defense would reinforce the European axis of the Alliance. This is even more relevant when we live in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and when the world is facing geopolitical changes that will define a new world order.
Providing the EU with military capabilities to have integrated Armed Forces with ample capacity for maneuver is an urgent need. That is the reading of the decision adopted by the 27 leaders of the Union in agreeing to strengthen defense industrial capabilities through material purchases shared by the partners. It is a joint rearmament whose catalyst must be sought in the Russian threat.
In the meantime, Spain will fulfill its commitments to NATO because, faced with global challenges, the response must be global. Defending democracy and freedoms involves reinforcing the Alliance and equipping it with the appropriate capacities.
In Madrid, the future of the organization for the next 10 years will be determined, and strategies beyond the purely military will be developed in the face of new threats such as the climate or food emergency.
The world is more complex, dangerous and uncertain, and citizens want security when they perceive threats that only the strength of our union, solidarity and determination can respond to. It is about facing challenges that emanate from a new world order with uncertain impacts and consequences and whose responses must be common because they go beyond the particular interests of each country. The Europe we want is like this: united, strong, supportive and secure. A Europe that knows very well what place it should occupy in the world.
