"A strong Europe is our best contribution to NATO"," says Pedro Morenés

Along the same lines pointed out by the High Representative for Foreign Policy and Common Security of the EU, Federica Mogherini, Pedro Morenés considers "the sense of urgency in implementing the measures deriving from the global strategy" to be key "to the consequences of our credibility", and to provide a response to the risks and threats that affect the security and well-being of our citizens.

Pedro Morenés underlined, given the insistence of the citizens of Europe on overseeing their security, that this "is our responsibility and we must tackle it now". He also pointed out that defence should become "one of the cornerstones of the re-launch of the European project".

Similarly, the Minister for Defence advocated greater integration of the existing structures in order to optimise relations between the military and the civilian authorities of the Foreign Action Service of the European Union.

After the informal meeting held by the Heads of State and Government of the 27, also held in Bratislava on 16 September, the political leaders placed security and defence at the centre of the EU agenda, with the approval of the Bratislava Declaration and Roadmap. In this regard, Pedro Morenés argued that "if defence is to occupy a leading role on the EU's agenda, it makes great sense to set up a specific Defence Council".

Pedro Morenés also highlighted that Spain "contributes on an ongoing basis to all military operations" and is "always at the forefront" of proposals to strengthen the construction of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP).

On another note, the Minister for Defence asserted that, following the Joint Declaration agreed in Warsaw, it is time to "give a straightforward boost" to cooperation between the EU and NATO, seeking mutual reinforcement and a complementary basis, and agreed on the need to align the processes to tackle the capabilities of the two organisations.

"If we manage to implement genuinely fluid cooperation between NATO and the EU, the process of making progress on the CSDP and stepping up the European capabilities that we wish to employ, this will represent a very important step in strengthening NATO and, in short, Euro-Atlantic security", he added.

To end, Pedro Morenés reviewed the current situation in Libya, operations 'Sophia' and 'Atalanta', and welcomed the regionalisation initiative, since "the security of the European Union depends, to a great extent, of a stable Sahel", and highlighted the need to step up security and defence structures and drive cooperation in the fight against terrorism, organised crime and people trafficking.

The Spanish Armed Forces actively take part in all the military missions deployed by the European Union: 'EUFOR Althea', in Bosnia Herzegovina; 'EUNAVFOR MED', in the Mediterranean Sea; 'EUNAVFOR Atalanta', in the Indian Ocean; 'EUTM Mali'; 'EUTM RCA', in the Central African Republic, and 'EUTM Somalia'.