Margarita Robles and her French counterpart, Florence Parly, at the meeting in the
Ministry of Defence where they demonstrated the excellent relationship between the
Armed Forces of both countries.
international
FRENCH-SPANISH
cooperation
The Ministers of Defence of both
countries are committed to strengthening
European military healthcare
THE commitment to Africa, in
particular to the Sahel, the role
of the Armed Forces in delivering
support to civilian society to confront
the pandemic and the unwavering
commitment to the European Union
were some of the issues addressed by
Defence Minister, Margarita Robles, in
a meeting with her French counterpart,
Florence Parly, held at the Ministry of
Defence on 24 September.
“One of the greatest challenges today
for the Europe of Defence is to be able
to count on European Military Medical
Corps”, said Minister Robles during
the joint press conference on a project
that had already been discussed within
NATO and in which Spain, France,
Germany and other countries are
interested. The idea is that, if a country
goes through a complicated health
situation, the rest “can help it and work
together”, explained Ms. Robles.
The Defence Minister underlined
the Armed Forces’ “vital contribution”
to the efforts of the civilian authorities
in their fight against the pandemic,
as demonstrated by the provision of
approximately 2,000 service members for
contact tracing.
That morning, the French Minister
had visited the premises of the Military
Emergencies Unit (UME) at Torrejón air
base and, according to what she conveyed
to her Spanish counterpart, she was “very
impressed, and even excited”. During
her meeting with the Commander of the
UME, General Luis Manuel Martínez
Meijide, Ms. Parly showed an interest in
the details of Operation Balmis, equivalent
to Operation Résilience in France.
CLOSE COOPERATION IN THE SAHEL
The two ministers began their meeting
by reviewing the situation in the Sahel
in the wake of the coup d’état in Mali,
where it has become evident that the
international community’s unanimous
response in defence of democracy has
been crucial. In this regard, Robles
underlined Spain’s commitment to
supporting Mali and the Sahel as a whole,
which is reflected in the decision to step
up efforts through the European Union
Training Mission (EUTM-Mali) by
increasing the contingent and providing
new airlift capabilities. “We understand
that the battle against terrorism in the
Sahel is a priority. We hope that once
the new Malian government is in place,
we can resume our training and advisory
mission”, she explained.
For her part, the French Defence
Minister welcomed the “very close
cooperation” between Spain and France
in that region. Parly underlined Spain’s
“very active” contribution to the fight
against terrorism within the framework
of Operation Barkhane, and recalled that
“one third of the transport in the Sahel is
provided by Spanish military personnel”,
referring to the Marfil detachment in
Dakar (Senegal), which is equipped with
two air carriers of the Spanish Air Force.
Another issue highlighted during
the bilateral meeting was the projects
on military capabilities in which both
countries are involved. “We share the
view of a robust operational Europe of
Defence, which takes concrete action,
and I would even add a final adjective:
an ambitious Europe of Defence, in
particular in the field of its capabilities”,
said Parly, in reference to the future
fighter programme, the Future Combat
Air System (FCAS), in which both
countries participate together with
Germany.
The meeting of the defence ministers
also offered them the opportunity to
share views prior to the meeting of the
European Intervention Initiative (EII)
—in which 13 nations are involved—
that was going to be held the following
day by videoconference. This is a defence
project conceived by French President,
Emmanuel Macron, to form military
coalitions to react to crises close to the
European borders.
The French Defence Minister also
took advantage of her trip to the Spanish
capital to visit the European Union
Satellite Centre (SATCEN), located in
Torrejón. These facilities provide aerial
and satellite images that contribute to
decision-making in the context of the
Common Foreign and Security Policy.
Editorial team
December 2020 Revista Española de Defensa 17