PSOE and Unidas Podemos once again show division in Congress on military spending

MADRID, 22 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The PSOE and Unidas Podemos have once again made public this Wednesday their division in relation to military spending and have voted differently in Congress before an initiative that encourages the Government to continue increasing the Defense budget until reaching the 2% of GDP agreed with NATO.

The Popular Party has been the proponent of an initiative in the Defense Commission delving into the need to maintain the path of increased military investment. Finally, the socialists have reached an agreement with the 'popular' to approve the non-legal proposal, while the deputies of United We Can have voted against, as have those of Vox and ERC.

The approved text urges the Government to develop a "sustained growth" program that allows the "final" objective of 2% in Defense to be achieved in the "shortest possible" period of time, "progressively" and in no case later of the year 2029, in line with the commitment announced by the head of the Executive, Pedro Sánchez.

It also demands that the Government inform Congress of this program and that it not only be dedicated to investment in material and weapons, but also include the remuneration of members of the Armed Forces.

"Of course we will not support any of the claims listed here", announced the deputy of United Podemos Roser Maestro, of IU, who has refused an increase in military spending that contributes to a "submission" to NATO and "the American interests."

"We must not increase the defense game with interests that are not ours and it only makes us continue in this spiral of warmongering escalation at a time when we must bet on dialogue and peace," he claimed.

The proposal has not had the support of Vox either, although in his case because he sees the 2% objective as scarce, which he wants to be marked as the minimum to be reached and not the ceiling due to the "accumulated delay" of Spain in security and defense .

"The war in Ukraine has demonstrated the urgent need for the nation to have solvent, equipped and trained Armed Forces capable of responding to the challenges and threats in the current geopolitical context," said Deputy Alberto Asarta, a retired general.

On behalf of the PP, the deputy José Ignacio Echániz has recognized that the Government has already expressed its willingness to comply with the military investment commitment reached with the Atlantic Alliance but has insisted on the need to "establish order" through a program of growth.

The PSOE has underlined the increase in spending by the Ministry of Defense in the face of "the decrease" of the years of PP government, as remarked by the parliamentarian José Ramón Ortega, and has claimed that this does not mean that the Socialists have a "militaristic spirit ", but compliance with international commitments and the need for a deterrence policy.