Spain spends over 838 million euros in military operations abroad

According to the report by the Spanish Defence Ministry thus, the army is involved in 18 military operation around the world, which amount to some 2,500 men employed in a regular manner.

According to official figures issued by the Spanish Defence Minister, Margarita Robles, the Spanish state has spent over 838 million euros in 2018 in 18 military operations around the world.

The sum explains well what it means for middle size countries to be a NATO, UN, UE member country although most citizens ignore these figures and also some of these military operations, as they are in far away countries or because these are barely mentioned in the news.

Yet, they are there. The geographical journey, and its respective costs, depicted a clear map of the current conflicts and the secondary support role played by various countries to the interests of much bigger powers.

According to the report by the Spanish Defence Ministry thus, the army is involved in 18 military operation around the world, which amount to some 2,500 men employed in a regular manner.

123,68 million euros is the cost of Spanish navy support to NATO in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean, while the interposition forces along the Israeli border and Lebanon (which includes 610 men) reach 112,15 million euros a year.

The cost of Spanish military presence in Iraq is over 100 millions and includes the deployment of 551 men.

The support to NATO military presence in Afghanistan costs Spanish people 10,81 million euros, while operation in Africa (in support to French operation in its former colonies) reached 83,89 million euros and 310 men in Mali; 34,48 million euros in Senegal; 8,92 million euros in Central Africa and 19,47 million euros in Gabon.

Following along the same continent, the Spanish presence in Somalia costs some 73,10 million euros to counter piracy on Somalian waters and 2,57 million euros to support the government army.

Back in Europe, the Spanish army spends some 69,23 million euros in Latvia as part of the NATO contingent there, and 51,75 million euros in air deployment in Lithuania, both operations are part of the measures to counter Russian threats after the crisis in Ukraine and Crimea.

Turkey as well is in the Spanish list of expenses and operations: 41,96 million euros cost in fact the antimissile battery at the border of Syria, part of a NATO deployment.

As part of joint operations, Spain spends 62,8 million of euros to counter immigration and the people smuggling nets, and 24,06 million of euros in the “war on terrorism” under NATO flag.

The list also includes Colombia: the Spanish state in fact spends 1,6 million euros in the Latin American country and 340 thousand euros to Bosnia.

The report by the Parliamentary Defence Commission should rise questions and debates on an issue only apparently technical and indeed very political, given that only 300 million euros (of the 838 million euros) are actually part of the budget while the rest are coming from the so called “contingency fund”, disposed by the Government.

Furthermore Spain is in the black list of the countries that according to the European monetary authorities do not comply with the fiscal balance they set. Which means that Europe is constantly asking Spain to cut costs, yet those cuts never affect military expenditure but always social and infrastructures ones.