Last year, Spain sent a total of 12,075 members of the Armed Forces to some of the contingents deployed in 17 missions abroad. With a complex and unstable geostrategic scenario – marked by the war in Ukraine, the conflict in Israel and the expansion of terrorism in the Sahel – the Government allocated up to 1,048 million euros to operations abroad in 2023, according to data of the Ministry of Defense to which La Vanguardia has had access. This figure rises another 27 million euros if the training of Ukrainian soldiers who are being trained on national territory is taken into account.

The head of Defense, Margarita Robles, reported a year ago on the cost to Spain of the different Spanish military missions in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America. She assured in the Congress of Deputies that “the main missions” involved an expense of 222.2 million euros. Although she did not break down the games nor did she take into account all the detachments abroad. This week, when he appeared again in the Defense Commission, to report on the international operations, however, he did not want to offer any economic details, after the debate focused on the Spanish refusal to participate in the missions – the one led by the United States and that proposed by the European Union – to guarantee navigability in the Red Sea against Houthi attacks.

In 2021 the figure reached 900 million euros and in 2020 about 230 million euros less. The increase, therefore, with respect to the latest solid data reaches almost 20%. The Russian invasion was a turning point for the security of Europe, which is why the allies have carried out a significant effort in the policy of deterrence and collective defense on the eastern flank. The Spanish contribution of all these missions has been extended by the Council of Ministers, but none of these renewals have passed through the Congress of Deputies with the argument that they are extensions of mandates that already had the green light from the Chamber low.

On that border with Russia, Operation Reinforced Forward Presence (eFP) is being carried out in Latvia to contribute to deterrence by the Atlantic Alliance, in addition to the defense and protection of the country. Furthermore, as has been tradition in recent decades, Spain is one of the main contributors to the work of the Baltic Air Police (BAP), from where the airspace is patrolled against incursions by Russian aircraft. The credit for aerial surveillance tasks rose to 136.7 million euros.

But the most important economic item corresponds to the NATO Permanent Naval Groups with a cost of 304 million euros. During the first half of 2023, the frigate Álvaro de Bazán, the minehunting ship Tajo and the supply ship Patiño were integrated into this basic element of the Very Rapid Response Forces. In July the frigate Méndez Núñez and the minesweeper Tambre took over.

However, in terms of the number of troops deployed, the cake once again goes to the United Nations UNIFIL mission in Lebanon, at a time of high tension in the area due to the exchange of fire between the Hezbollah militia and the defense forces. From Israel. The minister acknowledged last Thursday that she is “concerned from the point of view of the integrity and security of the military.” Currently, there are 656 military personnel and 7 civilian translators deployed carrying out mediation work so that the area does not become a new Gaza Strip.

The mission that is really in question is one of those deployed in Iraq to fight terrorism. Defense sources consider an imminent withdrawal “almost certain” because the headquarters – led by the United States – is constantly being attacked by pro-Iranian militias. The other mission in this territory has more signs of succeeding because it is limited to the training of Iraqi soldiers. Spain allocated 79.2 million for both missions last year.

The future is also highly uncertain for the 132 Spanish soldiers deployed in Mali. 2023 was marked by the loss of European influence in the territory and by the virtual total suspension of training activities. The EU must review the mission. The current mandate ends in four months, so the question about the continuity of the mission will not take long to be cleared up.

Operation Atalanta has once again gained prominence due to the increase in pirate activities in the waters of the Gulf of Aden. The phenomenon was contained – no incident had occurred since 2019. But the Hamas attack on Israel also had an impact on this area.