The Spanish and French Ministers for Defence commit to clear leadership in security and defence matters

Both Robles and Parly referred to the war in Ukraine, stressing that the reaction of the EU and NATO is an example of unity and mobilisation, and both countries reiterated that their commitment to the Ukrainian people is solid "from both a humanitarian standpoint and in terms of sending military material".

The Spanish-French Defence and Security Council, which had not been held for nine years, culminated in a joint declaration that "shows that Spain and France want to have clear leadership in security and defence matters, and that we are fully committed to the complementarity of the EU and NATO," Robles stressed.

The declaration establishes a series of very ambitious objectives and a new roadmap for the bilateral relationship between the two nations, which, in the words of Robles, "is going through one of its best moments", while Parly noted "with satisfaction that our cooperation has progressed a great deal, both in the operational and strategic spheres, and in the establishment of capabilities".

"France and Spain share the same defence priorities. We share the same interest in developing our military tools, working for the stability of the European continent and its neighbourhood, increasing our support actions in the fight against terrorism. Now that we are experiencing a brutal return to war on our continent, our unity is our trump card. We are determined, together we will strengthen the defence of our compatriots," said Parly.

Both ministers were firm on "the importance of investing in the European defence industry", in common projects such as the new Future Combat Air System (FCAS), the Eurodrone, and the Tiger programme.

"These are programmes that are committed to European industry and also to the creation of jobs, which are so important at the moment," said Robles.

Parly stressed the need to "spend more and better" because "what the Europe of Defence has to do is not only invest, but act jointly, as we are doing in the Sahel and in the framework of NATO on the Eastern flank of Europe".

Sahel and Mali

On the question of the Sahel, Robles pointed out that Spain and France agree on continuing to support the fight against terrorism, affirming that "we are very involved and we will continue to be so, openly fighting against terrorism in the Sahel or anywhere in the world".

"We have considered deploying our efforts out of Mali in order to be better able to deploy elsewhere," Parly said of the withdrawal of French troops from the sub-Saharan country.

Cooperation in space, working on common cybersecurity and defence policies; the importance of coordinated maritime presences (in the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea or the Gulf of Guinea), as well as support for the Atalanta operation against piracy were discussed as key issues during the Council.

Robles also pointed out the importance of the new agreement in contributing to international collaboration in the spheres of the Atlantic Alliance and, especially, the European Union, following the milestone of the recent approval of the 'Strategic Compass'.

Collaboration

The friendship and the excellent Spanish-French collaboration have thus been underlined and reinforced by the signing of a Joint Declaration in which the axes of cooperation between the two ministries have been established, which will be embodied in the updated Cooperation Agreement in the field of Defence between the governments of the two countries, which will replace the one currently in force and which dates from October 1983.

The creation of the Spanish-French Defence and Security Council was decided at the Franco-Spanish Summit in November 2005, with the aim of contributing to a better development of bilateral collaboration through joint projects and closer cooperation for the benefit of European Defence.

To date, the Council has met four times, most recently in 2013. In the final declaration of the 26th Spanish-French Summit, held in Montauban on 15 March 2021, both countries agreed to organise a new meeting of the Council, specifically for defence matters.

Non official translation