Defense and democracy

The increase in military spending up to 2% in 2028 is only justified with a reasoned and convincing investment plan

The Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24 has dramatically changed the strategic landscape and altered the priorities of European countries. NATO has experienced an unforeseen revival after Putin's attack, with countries like Sweden and Finland knocking on its door. The summit held at the end of June in Madrid ratified the commitment adopted in Wales in 2014 to raise military spending to 2% of GDPwithin a decade, making it inexcusable. Spain is now at the bottom of the NATO countries in defense investment, with 1.01% of GDP this year and the commitment to progressively increase it to reach 2% in 2028. This is a notable increase, since It practically means doubling current military spending, but it is in line with what other allies have announced. A Germany traditionally reluctant to increase defense spending has changed its criteria in the face of Putin's evident belligerenceand, with a coalition government between social democrats, greens and liberals, it has approved a fund of 100,000 million to modernize its Armed Forces in the coming years. Other countries have already exceeded the percentage set in Wales, such as the USA, the United Kingdom, Greece or Poland, or are close to reaching it, such as France.

In reality, 2% is only a mere reference, since reaching it sooner or later will largely depend on economic growth, and some countries that allocate large resources to maintaining their armies are "security consumers" and not "taxpayers", that is, , they receive more than they give to the Atlantic Alliance. This is not the case of Spain, which participates in most of the NATO missions.

Despite this, the shortcomings in the Armed Forces after a decade of budget cuts are evident, with urgent needs in terms of renewal and restitution of material, weapons and defense systems. A third of combat aircraft are near the end of their operational life and some capabilities have been lost in these years. In the words of a military commander, the increase in defense spending will be used primarily to "plug holes."

Now, an increase in military spending as strong as expected cannot be discretionary or amount to a blank check. It is necessary to know in detail the specific investment plans, the relevance of the items and the effective utility of the purchases. In what way will these serve or not to activate a defense industry that promotes technological development and how do these projects fit into the objective of achieving European autonomy in security matters. The growth of military spending requires a broad and detailed explanation to citizens to avoid their misunderstanding in the face of aid that many other areas of Spanish society also need.