Government of Spain presents the Industrial and Technological Plan for Security and Defence

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, appears after the Council of Ministers (Pool Moncloa / Jose Manuel Álvarez)

The Council of Ministers addressed the Industrial and Technological Plan for Security and Defence which the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez announced a few weeks ago in the Lower House of Parliament.

In an appearance following the meeting of the Executive, the President presented the content of the Plan, which will be sent to Brussels tomorrow for NATO and the European Union to assess its technical and budgetary foundations.

"Spain will rise to this historic moment. We are going to work together and we are going to do so without renouncing our values and interests," said Pedro Sánchez, who thanked the work of the departments involved in drawing up the Plan and, in particular, the Minister for Defence, Margarita Robles, and the Defence General Staff.

Security, Spain's role and reindustrialisation

Ensuring the security of Spain and its citizens in the current geopolitical and technological context is the first objective of the Plan. The President of the Government of Spain recalled that "the enemies of Europe" not only use missiles and tanks, but also unmanned drones, sabotage of supply chains and infrastructures, disinformation through social networks and cyberattacks. The Industrial and Technological Plan will help develop the human and technical capacities to face these threats "in record time", Pedro Sánchez has assured.

A second objective is to consolidate Spain as a central and reliable member of the European Union and the Atlantic Alliance. The head of the Executive argued that Spain's security and stability are linked to those of Ukraine, Eastern Europe, the Baltic and Nordic countries. "We are facing a change of era and this obliges us to take control of our own destiny and to build the security and defence union that the founders of the European Union proposed back in the 20th century," he said.

Participating in this process implies meeting the investment targets required by Spain's partners and to which it committed itself in 2014. Thanks to this Plan, "Spain will reach 2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in security and defence this year," according to Pedro Sánchez. To reach this percentage from the current 1.4%, an additional 10.471 billion euros needs to be invested over and above that already earmarked for these policies. This will bring the total amount to 33.123 billion euros. The President insisted that this is an "important effort" but one that is "proportional to the challenges that Spain and Europe are facing".

The third major objective of the Plan is to boost innovation and reindustrialisation around dual-purpose technologies, military and civilian, with associated benefits for business and employment. This investment will help to consolidate "the excellent state of the Spanish economy and also to accelerate the modernisation of our productive fabric."

Employment, training, technology and equipment improvements

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, during his speech at the press conference after the Council of Ministers | Pool Moncloa /Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

The Industrial and Technological Plan for Security and Defence is structured around five main pillars.

Of the investment, 35.45% will be allocated to the working conditions and training of troops and sailors and to the equipment of the Armed Forces. In addition to the increase in salaries already approved, the government will increase the number of troops in the Armed Forces and modernise their training systems and equipment, so that the conditions of Spanish soldiers will be brought into line with those of European soldiers and the work of the Armed Forces will be better recognised.

The manufacturing and acquisition of new telecommunications and cybersecurity capabilities is the second pillar, accounting for 31.16% of the total investment. Pedro Sánchez pointed out that Spain suffers more than a thousand cyberattacks on essential services and critical infrastructure such as hospitals, airports and the electricity grid every year. To create a "digital shield" against these threats, 3.26 billion euros will be invested in modernising the Armed Forces' encrypted telecommunications systems, acquiring satellites, antennas and radars, strengthening both civilian and military cybersecurity tools, and investing in cloud storage capacity, 5G, artificial intelligence and quantum computing.

A total of 18.75% of investments will go to the third pillar: the manufacture and purchase of defence and deterrence equipment. The goal, the President stressed, is not to "attack anyone", but to dissuade those who are thinking of attacking Spain or Europe. "We will do this so that, for example, when a Spanish soldier on a peace mission gets into an armoured vehicle in Lebanon or a frigate in the Strait of Gibraltar, he will feel even safer and know that he has state-of-the-art technology to do his job and fulfil his mission," he said.

Some 16.73% of the total investment - 1.75 billion euros - will be directed towards strengthening the dual capabilities of the Armed Forces so that they can also help in the management of emergencies and natural disasters such as floods or fires, situations that are worsening year after year due to climate change. These resources will be used to expand the fleet of rescue and logistical support helicopters, acquire bridge launchers and firefighting tankers, charter a new hydrographic vessel and modernise the Ministry of Defence infrastructure needed to respond quickly to emergency situations affecting national security.

The fifth pillar of the Plan, which represents 3.14% of the investment, seeks to improve the security conditions of the almost 3,000 troops that make up the 16 peace missions in which Spain participates, under the flags of the European Union, NATO or the United Nations. The head of the Executive recalled that these soldiers and civil guards risk their lives, for example, to guarantee stability in Lebanon, protect ships in the Indian Ocean or combat terrorism in Somalia.

The investment of the Plan is supplemented by adjustments and refunds of credits for previous Special Modernisation Programmes, which represent a 5.23% reduction of the total amount.

Security compatible with social welfare

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, appears after the Council of Ministers | Pool Moncloa / Jose Manuel Álvarez

The President of the Government of Spain stressed that the additional investment in security and defence "will be in keeping with the times the world is going through" and, at the same time, "in keeping with Spain's interests and the values of the progressive coalition government."

In the first place, the Executive has made a commitment to citizens to finance the Plan "without touching a cent of the welfare state or affecting the pockets of our citizens." The bulk of the funding foreseen for 2025 will come from three sources, as detailed by the President: the redirection of some items of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, such as that corresponding to cybersecurity; the savings generated by the Government's "rigorous management" and the "successful performance" of its economic policy; and the margin provided by some items that were included in the 2023 State Budget and are no longer needed.

"With these mechanisms and surpluses, the Government will be able to finance the 2025 fiscal year without compromising social or environmental spending, without undertaking tax increases and without incurring a higher deficit or public debt," said Pedro Sánchez, who has called for defence to also be financed with additional European resources.

GDP growth and job creation

A second commitment expressed by the President in his appearance is that "most of the money mobilised will stay in Spain". Specifically, the Executive estimates that 87% of the investment, some 9 billion euros, will go to Spanish companies and workers from a wide range of sectors and from all the autonomous communities.

The bulk of the remaining investment will go to European companies, and less than 5% of the Plan's funds will go to the purchase of spare parts or essential components not currently produced in Europe. In any case, the medium-term goal is for Europe to achieve strategic autonomy.

The funds, as explained by the President, will be directed to existing security and defence industrial corridors, which will also be extended to new territories. Investments will also be made in sectors such as digital technologies, telecommunications and those most affected by the US tariff hikes. To facilitate this process, a National Committee for Security and Technological Sovereignty will be created, Technology Transfer Offices will be expanded and the training ecosystem will be strengthened with new industrial doctorate programmes and the establishment of vocational training hubs.

"The aim is to turn this security crisis into a new economic stimulus for Spain," the President said. The Executive estimates that the Plan will contribute to increasing GDP by between 0.4 and 0.7 points, increase R&D by 18% and create almost 100,000 jobs, 36,000 directly and some 60,000 indirectly, most of them with above-average levels of qualification and salaries.

Transparency and participation

The Minister for Defence, Margarita Robles, along with Minister for Education, Vocational Training, and Sports, Pilar Alegría, and Minister for the Presidency, Justice and Parliamentary Relations, Félix Bolaños, during the press conference | Pool Moncloa /Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

To ensure transparency and participation in the Plan, Pedro Sánchez has also pledged to continue the round of meetings that have been held over the last few weeks with the parliamentary groups, national and international experts and representative companies of the technology, security, cybersecurity and defence sectors.

The Government will also increase its dialogue with social agents, the productive fabric, regional and local administrations and civil society, said the President, who will appear again in the Lower House of Parliament to present the Plan.

"I firmly believe that this is a national issue in which we must all make our contributions and pull together, because what is at stake is something as serious as the security of Europe and, therefore, the security of Spain," said the head of the Executive.

Commitment to diplomacy and development cooperation

In his appearance, Pedro Sánchez also stressed the Government's commitment to the multilateral system: "We will not touch a single cent of investment in diplomacy or development cooperation." Along these lines, he announced that the Executive is already working on another plan to strengthen this multilateral system "which today is weakening".

The President recalled that this system will have one of its milestones this year in Seville, which will host the International Conference on Financing for Development from 30 June to 3 July. "Today more than ever, it is necessary that important countries like ours, which are supportive and pacifist, break a lance in favour of this system of rules, cooperation and shared interests that has given humanity so much peace and prosperity over the last eighty years," he defended.

Pedro Sánchez has also advocated improving the functioning, transparency and efficiency of the major multilateral organisations, such as the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization. "Spain wants to be and will be at the forefront of this process," he said.

Defence of intellectual and industrial property

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, answers questions from the press after the Council of Ministers | Pool Moncloa /Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

At its meeting today, the Council of Ministers also approved an Institutional Declaration on the defence and promotion of intellectual and industrial property rights on World Intellectual and Industrial Property Day 2025 on Saturday 26 April.

In the text, the Government expresses its firm determination to defend, protect and promote these rights in order to stimulate artistic and literary creativity and research and innovation, thereby contributing to the growth and development of our country's culture, economy, society and democracy.

Aid to offset the effects of drought on agricultural production

The Executive has also regulated the granting direct aid of up to a maximum of 20 million euros, from the European Union's agricultural reserve to dryland nut producers in the provinces of Almería, Alicante, Castellón, Murcia, Valencia and Tarragona who have suffered a significant loss of production due to the drought in 2024. In Tarragona, hazelnut growers on irrigated land will also receive aid of a maximum of 240 per hectare.

The beneficiaries will be the holders of agricultural holdings of these characteristics who have been eligible for direct aid under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the 2024 campaign. They will not have to apply because the Spanish Agricultural Guarantee Fund will manage the aid directly and they will receive it before 30 September.

Current Affairs

The head of the Executive began his speech at the press conference with a few words of remembrance and affection for Pope Francis, who died yesterday at the age of 88, at his residence in the Vatican's Domus Sanctae Marthae.

Pedro Sánchez said that he had spoken to him on several occasions and always knew that he was "a friend of Spain and a moral and spiritual reference point for millions of people".

The President stressed that the pontiff was a leader who "advocated the fight against poverty, a humanist approach to the phenomenon of migration and adaptation to climate change and against intolerance when it was most needed."

Non official translation