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The Government reports to Congress tomorrow on exports of defense material, which increased by 25% in 2022

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The Secretary of State for Commerce, Xiana Margarida Méndez, appears this Tuesday at the Defense Commission of Congress to present the report on exports of defense and dual-use material corresponding to 2022, which shows that sales increased by 24.3 % that year with Saudi Arabia as one of the main clients, the first non-European. Specifically, exports of defense material reached an amount of 4,091.3 million euros in 2022, compared to 3,290.2 million euros the previous year. These more than 4,000 million sold represent 38.8% of all operations authorized by the PSOE and Unidas Podemos coalition government, which exceeded 10,000 million. THE MAIN MARKETS The report also details the main markets for Spanish exports of defense material. Exports to countries of the European Union (EU) represented 48.5% of the total, with a value of 1,980.2 million euros. Expeditions to NATO countries accounted for 61.1% with a value of 2,501.2 million euros. The remaining sales, once exports to EU and NATO countries were discounted, represented 37.9%, with 1,548.8 million euros, according to the work. Outside the scope of the countries belonging to the EU and NATO, Saudi Arabia stands out as the country that has paid the most defense material, worth 858.3 million euros. On the other hand, Sumar, Podemos, EH Bildu, ERC and BNG, regular parliamentary partners of the Government, will have the opportunity to demand accountability from the Executive for the sale of defense material and weapons to Israel, an issue that causes them discomfort due to the resurgence in October of the conflict with Hamas, which has led to an offensive on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank that they call “genocide.” According to the report, that year Israel received defense material worth 9,292,435 euros. The partners of Pedro Sánchez’s Executive have demanded on multiple occasions that they suspend exports and shipments of weapons to Israel, while the Government emphasizes that Spain has not closed agreements of this type with the Jewish State since October 7, 2023, date in which Hamas launched the offensive that caused the Israeli response against the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. More than 30,000 people have already died in the counteroffensive. The Sánchez Government and parliamentary partners have criticized the response as disproportionate, which, in their opinion, neither complies with International Law nor respects Human Rights. The Chief Executive has repeatedly called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and to work towards a two-state solution to make it viable for the Palestinian and Israeli populations to coexist peacefully. LICENSES ALREADY GRANTED The last time the Government referred to the sale of weapons to Israel was last week, during the control session in Congress, in a question that the general secretary of Podemos, Ione Belarra, addressed to the Minister of Economy , Carlos Body. The ‘morada’ recalled that the law that regulates the arms trade “explicitly establishes” the suspension or denial of “any transfer of defense material when there are rational indications that Human Rights may be being violated”, a requirement that, according to , are fulfilled. She also accused the Executive of “lying” for continuing to sell weapons to Israel in December, according to media publications, and has also criticized Spain for buying material from them. “Our money goes directly to finance a genocide,” said the Podemos leader. On his side, Corps stressed that the Government “has not granted any license to export weapons or equipment that could be used in the conflict to Israel since October 7.” Regarding the December shipment, he justified that the license was granted before the mentioned date and clarified that it is “a re-export that ends in the Philippines.” Thus, she advised Belarra to “go a little further.”



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