Spain Boosts Military Spending by 7.87% Amid North African Arms Race

The Spanish Council of Ministers has approved this week the draft general state budget. According to this document, the Ministry of Defense led by Margarita Robles will benefit in 2022 from a budget of 10.152 billion euros, compared to 9.411 billion euros this year. Similarly, an amount of 2.342 billion euros will be dedicated to the outstanding payment of sophisticated weapons, and 7.68 billion euros will be allocated to other expenses.

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Spain, which has been experiencing a serious diplomatic crisis with Morocco for a few months, opened after the "illegal" entry of Brahim Ghali, the leader of the Polisario Front, fears the kingdom which has deployed in recent years its program of modernization and strengthening of its army, buying drones and latest generation weapons of mass destruction from its partners including the United States.

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This rearmament of Morocco is not viewed favorably by some Spanish officials and officers. For the former Spanish ambassador to the United Nations, Javier Ruperez, "Spain’s relations with Morocco are complex". The officers, for their part, have repeatedly expressed their dissatisfaction with Morocco’s acquisition of high-tech weapons.