The G5+ meets in Berlin, with the EU and Ukraine as guests, to talk about Syria and how to pay for Defense Europe

The first formal meeting of the new G5+ takes place this Thursday in Berlin. The foreign ministers of Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland and United Kingdom have been summoned, together with the representatives of the EU and Ukrainethis noon at 2:00 p.m. in the German capital with two objectives.

The first, to definitively launch this hard core, the embryo of the Europe of Defense that the EU wants to finally promote in this legislature. And the second, get into specific matters: on the one hand, discuss the financing of this objective, and on the other exchange positions on the crisis in Syria.

In this aspect, Jose Manuel Albares arrives in Berlin with “privileged” information, after his recent bilateral meetings with the Iranian foreign ministers, Abbas Araghchiand Turkish, Hakan Fidan. Furthermore, in recent days, the head of Spanish diplomacy has spoken by telephone with his Jordanian counterparts last Sunday, and with the Qatari and Saudi counterparts this Wednesday.

Spain is carrying out liaison work between certain important actors in the Middle East and its Western partners and allies. Albares is expected to convey several messages to her colleagues, the host Annalena Baerbock (Germany), Jean-Noël Barrot (France), Antonio Tajani (Italy), Radosław Sikorski (Poland) and number two in British diplomacy, Stephen Doughty (United Kingdom), in addition to Kaja Kallas (EU) and Andrei Sybiha (Ukraine).

The same Iranian Foreign Minister took advantage of his second meeting in just two months with Albares to send a warning to NATO and the European Union: Tehran has already launched thousands of advanced centrifuges for its nuclear program and, if the West opts to maintain and renew sanctions on its country, the Islamic Republic will bet on redirecting this uranium enrichment towards “acquiring atomic weapons.”

Syria and Russia

Albares, at the entrance to the meeting, advocated establishing “careful contacts” with the new Syrian authorities and make it clear to them what the European Union (EU) expects, a Syria in which the integrity of the country and respect for human rights are respected.

“It is a great opportunity, once Assad has fallen, for us to have contacts with the new authorities and I will explain it that way,” said Albares upon arrival at the G5+ meeting. “What we want and what we are willing to do to support the future of Syria is through territorial integrity and guarantee human rights, especially those of minoritieswhether they are ethnic or religious,” stressed the minister.

The head of Spanish diplomacy added that we must ask that what is now a military movement, that is, the groups that have overthrown the Damascus regime, “be transformed into a political movement” to “a peaceful and peaceful Syriainclusive for everyone”.

The fall of the dictatorial regime of Bachar Assadwho inherited the presidency of the country from his father almost a quarter of a century ago, not only weakens Iran in the region, it also fully affects Russia. Vladimir Putin It provided security and defense to Assad, especially since the 2015 Russian intervention in the eternal Syrian civil war.

Russia maintained two bases, one air and one naval in the country, which gave it an access to the eastern Mediterranean that could now be lost. And with this, the route for the private troops of the former Wagner Group (today Africa Korps) in the Sahel countries, and the route for the natural resources that Putin extracts from those failed African states.

For this reason, among other reasons, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister will join the G5+ meeting this Thursday in Berlin. and the High Representative of the EU for Foreign and Security Policy, former Estonian Prime Minister Kallas.

Albares told the press that, although the focus is currently on Syria, we must not forget that “there are also risks” in the new situation. Nor that the fundamental thing to achieve definitive peace and stability in the Middle East involves a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and to consolidate the ceasefire in Lebanon.

The representatives of the five community countries consider it key to involve not only the EU as a whole, but also the United Kingdom in the necessary movements to that Europe “learns to defend itself and take charge of their own security,” according to diplomatic sources.

The special relationship between London and Washington will help address the challenges of Donald Trump’s return to the White House. And on the other hand, in addition to London, only Paris has the deterrence of nuclear weapons in Europe.

EU, NATO and 2% of GDP

The ministers present will also discuss the financing of defense spending. Not just about how to increase it up “the minimum of 2% of GDP” to which all of them committed themselves within the Atlantic Alliance a decade ago. Also about how to find new ways of common financing, and even joint acquisition of weapons and supplies.

In fact, part of the talks are expected to deal with a possible joint fund of 500 billion euros within the European Union for common defense projects and weapons purchases, taking advantage of the debt bond markets.

Trump’s threat to withdraw US security guarantees from NATO allies that “they spend less than necessary” has served as the definitive fuse for this, along with the increasingly evident threat from Russia.

One of those countries with little defense spending is Spain, which does not reach 1.3% of GDP of military investment and does not expect to reach 2% until 2029. Trump’s new USA has warned that Washington is not willing to maintain – and above all, pay for – the European nuclear shield and the naval and troop bases of its infantry in the EU countries.

For this reason, the new community Executive of Ursula von der Leyen has created a Defense Commissioner portfolio, and this Wednesday the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament approved the creation of a new parliamentary committee on Security and Defense (HEADQUARTERS).

In reality, it is the ascent from what was a subcommittee until now, almost without powers and all delegated, to convert it into a “supercommission” with many political perspectives, in this new stage. That is, power and budget.

Germany and the frugal Netherlands and Denmark They don’t even want to hear about these eurobonds of defense, after the “unique and exceptional” experience of the joint debt issued after the pandemic to finance recovery funds NextGeneration EU. Spain and Italy, for their part, would like to explore this route, for economic reasons and for political efficiency in joint spending.

Where to get 500,000M

The senior European officials discussing the plan, as reported by the Financial Timesare now concentrating on finding the appropriate financial vehicle for the defense, with the option of issuing joint bonds but backed by national guarantees of the participating countries, rather than the EU as a whole. This financing model would thus make it easier for it to be open to non-EU states, such as the United Kingdom itself and Norway.

European parliamentary sources confirm to EL ESPAÑOL that a minimum of 500,000 million euros is needed not only for its own defense, but to be able to maintain support for Ukraine and prepare for the demands of the elected president of the United States. Trump was explicit in the campaign: “We are not going to protect NATO allies who do not pay fairly”.

In this sense, the Spanish minister stressed that “we have to look for the new North American Administration strengthen the transatlantic linkbecause it continues to be key today more than ever for the security” of the allies.

“Spain will always be willing to join a stronger Europemore integrated and also to strengthen the transatlantic link from our foreign policy, which of course has its own identity and acts with coherence,” he concluded.

Already the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakisdefended Eurobonds for defense within the EU, earlier this year. “Germany and France would obviously benefit from greater European defense spending,” he recently told the FTadding that Italy and Spain are also “big players” in the industry that will benefit from this initiative.

Another alternative is also being discussed, for which the Spanish would have the last word. Nadia Calvinorecently elected president of the European Investment Bank (EIB). Under these plans, the EIB could help finance these national guarantees and would play an administrative role in the capital markets.

Under its current lending policy, the EIB is prohibited from directly financing investments in arms. But “political creativity is key right now,” diplomatic sources tell this newspaper, “and dual-use instruments fit into the EIB statutes”.

Those 500,000 million euros are not a random figure, it is the “minimum” amount that Von der Leyen aspires to for the next decade. The money should be dedicated to joint projects, such as the common anti-aircraft defenses that Poland and Greece have proposed… which alone would already reach that cost, according to the new Defense Commissioner, Andrius Kubilius.