Council of Ministers

Government allocates 97 million euros to modernising aircraft and helicopter fleet of Spanish Air Force

2016.8.19

  • x: opens new window
  • Whatsapp: opens new window
  • Linkedin: opens new window
  • Send: opens new window

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

The government authorised three framework agreements to be entered into, together with the corresponding contracts to maintain aircraft and helicopters operated by the Spanish Air Force.

The acting Vice-President of the Government, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, specified that "this amounts to an investment of 97 million euros that will help modernise our fleet of aircraft and helicopters".

The first agreement relates to maintaining the T-22 (Airbus 310) fleet in service for Group 45 of the Air Force, for an estimated value of 30 million euros. Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría pointed out that the missions assigned to this type of aircraft include the transportation of State officials, passengers and medical air evacuations, as well as the transportation of troops deployed on international missions and NEO operations (non-combatant evacuation operations) and the repatriation of the deceased.

The aim of the second agreement is to maintain the TM-11 (Falcon 20), T-18 (Falcon 900), T-20 (Cessna Citation V) aircraft, for an estimated value of 35 million euros. The missions of these aircraft include electronic warfare and electronic counter-measure operations, the transfer of State officials, passengers and medical air evacuations, as well as aerial photographs and the in-flight calibration of radio navigation aid systems.

The two agreements will have a duration of four years, from 2016 to 2020, distributed in five annual payments.

The third agreement is designed to maintain the various aviation engines for helicopters operated by the Air Force, for an estimated value of 32 million euros. The Vice-President of the Government specified that this maintenance basically consists of work to revise and repair engines, components and accessories to restore their useful life, as well as to make the third step modifications necessary to ensure that their configuration is kept up-to-date. The agreement will have an estimated duration of two years, which may be extended for a further two years.

Pre-election polls in the Basque Country and Galicia

Soraya Sáenz de SantamaríaPool Moncloa/Diego CrespoThe Council of Ministers authorised two unexpected and urgent contracts to be put out to tender so that the Centre for Sociological Research (Spanish acronym: CIS) can carry out pre-election polls for the upcoming regional elections in the Basque Country and Galicia as a result of these elections being brought forward. In order to achieve this, an exception has been made to the application of the order to freeze spending on non-budgetary expenses and operations.

Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría recalled that since the start of democracy in Spain, the CIS has carried out pre- and post-election polls each time that regional, general or local elections have been called. "CIS polls are undertaken in situ through pollsters that belong to its field network and involve a preparation time of between two and three months".

The fact that the elections have been brought forward in the Basque Country and in Galicia to the month of September "makes it impossible to follow the habitual procedure" with the own resources and personnel of this body, pointed out the Vice-President of the Government, and hence "it is necessary to outsource this work, which will be carried out by phone".

R&D+i

The government agreed to ratify the provisional authorisations to sign two addenda to agreements between the General State Administration and the Regional Government of the Balearic Islands to finance investments in scientific and technical research.

The first addendum relates to an agreement from 2009 that provides for the transfer of 9.5 million euros to the islands to finance the Balearic Research, Technology Development and Innovation Complex.

The Vice-President of the Government pointed out that, in light of the difficulties in making the investments within the deadline established, the government is extending the term of the agreement until the end of 2017. "The deadline for its execution will be extended until 30 June 2017 and the substantiation of the investments made until 31 December 2017".

The second addendum is made to the agreement regulating the transfer to this regional government of 7.5 million euros to finance the start-up of the Balearic Innovation and Technology Centre in Minorca, and the construction and fitting-out of the University-Company Laboratory. In this case, the contract will be extended until 1 June 2017.

Spanish experts at the UN

Soraya Sáenz de SantmaríaPool Moncloa/Diego Crespo

The Council of Ministers analysed the administrative agreement signed in New York on 27 June between the Government of Spain and the United Nations (UN) for the provision of associate experts.

The Government Spokesperson highlighted that "the agreement will allow Spanish experts to be sent to cover posts offered by the various United Nations bodies and institutions managed by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, whereby the cost is financed by a voluntary contribution to be made by the corresponding public authority".

"Any body of the General State Administration or its dependent bodies may henceforth send experts to the United Nations by making the mandatory contribution. As regards regional authorities and the rest of the public sector, they must, if they intend to finance a post, channel the contribution through a body of the General State Administration", explained Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría.

Current affairs

The Vice-President of the Government stressed that the President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy, will get in touch "immediately" and from a "very constructive position" with the leader of the Socialist Party, Pedro Sánchez, and that, once the date is set for the vote of investiture - the indeterminate nature of which seemed to be an obstacle - there will be "no objections" to holding a meeting. Meanwhile, he asked the PSOE to analyse what the Spanish people and their voters expect from this time in which "we must work together".