Margarita Robles vindicates Spain's role in NATO against Trump's criticism: "With our heads held high"

The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, has defended Spain's position within NATO and has affirmed that the country will attend the next Alliance summit "with its head held high," in an interview she granted to 'El País'. According to her, the military leaders of the allied countries know firsthand the degree of Spanish involvement and are aware that it complies with the assumed obligations.

In this context, Robles has highlighted that "Spain is meeting the capability objectives that have been requested of it" and has announced that the Government is preparing a package of 15 new military programs. The initiative will soon be submitted to the Council of Ministers with the aim of ensuring that investment in defense once again reaches 2% of GDP during this fiscal year.

The minister has also responded to recent statements by US President, Donald Trump, who again questioned Spain's commitment to NATO. In response to these criticisms, Robles has assured that the organization's partners "know that is not true" and has defended the permanent readiness of the Spanish Armed Forces to participate in the missions entrusted to them.

In this regard, she has insisted that Spain's level of compliance within the Alliance is high and has maintained that the country can meet its commitments by allocating 2% of its GDP to defense. Furthermore, she has stressed that Spain holds a prominent position in meeting the capability objectives set by the organization, downplaying the assessments made by both Trump and the NATO Secretary General.

On the other hand, when asked about the situation of Mercedes González, Robles recalled that the powers over the direction of the Civil Guard correspond to the Ministry of Interior. Likewise, she defended respect for judicial procedures and emphasized the importance of preserving "the presumption of innocence of the director of the Civil Guard, like that of any citizen" while justice continues its actions.