237 Miguel Ángel Franco García From national defence directive to national maritime security strategy: trend towards the integration of civil and military capabilities in the maritime field 1.1. The National Defence Directive: of legal or political force? The National Defence Directive was first drafted in 1980. However, it was not until 1992 that the content was unclassified, thus giving the public access to information on the Government’s goals in the area of defence. As stated in Ministerial Order 37/2005, of 30 March, regulating the Defence Planning process, the DDN sets out the general lines of action and provides guidelines for the development of the Government’s Defence Policy21. It provides direction for Defence Planning and is drawn up every four years, for two-year implementation and two-year review (paragraph 3.1). The minimum content of the National Defence Directive is laid down in the aforementioned Ministerial Order, which states that it shall include the following information, among other things: the goals, specifying the effort required of the Armed Forces; the factors influencing the planning process, particularly the ideal ratio of national military capability to international commitments, and an assessment of the current strategic and economic situation (paragraph 5). The DDN is prepared by the Prime Minister22, and up to DDN 1/2008 it was drawn up solely by the Ministry of Defence, although - pursuant to Royal Decree 1310/2007, of 5 October, regulating the operation of the National Security Council and the composition and functions of the Inter-ministerial Defence Committee – the aforementioned DDN was drawn up by the National Defence Council23. Given the importance of the DDN in that it conditions defence policy, we should determine its nature, that is to say: does it embody regulatory requirements with the power to legally bind the bodies responsible for defence planning (Chief of the Defence Staff, responsible for Military Planning; Secretary of State for Defence, responsible for Financial and Material Resources Planning, and the Under Secretary of Defence, responsible for Human Resources Planning) or, to the contrary, does it merely have a planning or political value. 21 According to the Statement of Reasons of Ministerial Order 37/2005, of 30 March, regulating the Defence Planning process (BOD no. 68, 8 April). Set out in Article 6.3.b, the economic and financial aspects in Instruction 2/2011, of 27 January (BOD no. 26, 8 February), regulating the Financial and Material Resources Planning process. 22 In accordance with the provisions of Article 6.1.a) of LODN 5/2005 and paragraph 3.1 of Ministerial Order 37/2005. 23 As stated by the Minister of Defence, Carme Chacón Piqueras, on 25 November 2008 when she appeared before the Defence Committee of the Congress to report on the draft National Defence Directive, available at: infodefensa.com, Información Defensa and Seguridad.
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