Defense Budget for 2007 Exceeds 8,000 Million euros, Up 8.6% Over 2006 (Source: Spanish Ministry of Defense; issued Sept. 26, 2006)
(Issued in Spanish only; unofficial translation by defense-aerospace.com) The Ministry of Defence’s budget for 2007 amounts to 8,049.99 million euros, 8.6% more than for 2006, which is the biggest percentage increase of the past 20 years.
The budget - which does not include funding for international peace-keeping operations, which are financed through other channels – will allow greater professionalization of the armed forces, improved operational readiness of units with greater access to better equipment, the modernization of equipment and infrastructures, new incentives for defense research and development, as well as the establishment of the Military Emergency Force and the increase for a third consecutive year of funding for the CNI to improve anti-terrorist operations.
Over 60 percent of the Ministry’s total appropriations – 1,178 million euros – will fund the modernization process, an increase of 7.6 percent over the current budget year supposing a one-point increase in Gross Domestic Product for next year. In addition to 16 ongoing major procurement projects, the budget will fund the acquisition of 19 helicopters and ten amphibious aircraft for the Military Emergency Force, which will be three-quarters operational in 2007.
The importance of modernization programs is double: in addition to the improved operational readiness of the armed forces, maximum importance will be assigned to industrial aspects, in terms of technology as well as socio-economic factors and employment.
This supposes stable employment in the defense sector (52,000 jobs maintained by the major projects alone), an increased internationalization of Spanish technology, increased development of industrial participation in projects of high strategic value, and an increase in the industry’s productivity and competitiveness.
The 2007 budget in addition earmarks 200 million euros – out of a total of 400 million euros promised last year by the Government – to increase pay levels for Armed Forces personnel, which will benefit 130,000 professionals.
In addition, this budget includes an increase of 15.8 percent in funding for the National Intelligence Center (Centro Nacional de Inteligencia, CNI), which over the past three years has seen its budget increase by 49 percent, especially for its anti-terrorism activities.
From an administrative view-point, this is an austere budget, as while general operating expenditure increases by 5.5 percent, expenditure for Armed Forces activities will increase by up to 10 percent. Concretely, operations funding will increase by 14.2 percent while training expenditure will increase by 11.3 percent.
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