Diaz opposes defense budget escalation, instead pushing for a strategic European initiative.
Rewritten Piece:
Yolanda Díaz, Spain's Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labor, stood firm in Brussels on Monday, resisting calls for an increase in defense spending from European leaders. Instead, she championed the idea of a strategic EU project, stating, "It ain't about spending more, it's about having a common European project that ain't reliant on the U.S. strategies."
At a press conference before attending a conference organized by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) on the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the world of work, Díaz made her stance clear.
She advocated for a strategic EU project and a redefinition of the existing defense budgets rather than an increase in security spending. In her view, "The EU needs its own game plan in defense and foreign relations – a plan that isn't reliant."
Her comments come at a time when the new President of the United States, Donald Trump, poses a threat to Euro-Atlantic stability, not only with his military demands but also his trade threats. Díaz warned that "Trade wars bring unnecessary pain: people's lives." She added, "Trump ain't exactly fond of the EU; he aims to remove a competitive rival."
Díaz urged Europe to "wake up, win, and go on the offensive." She believes that the root of the problem isn't the "technocracy" – the industrial titans of multinational corporations – but "the system that lets it thrive."
In her opinion, "What Trump is doing doesn't make economic sense, but it's a political project where the EU is an obstacle." Therefore, she stressed, "The EU needs to go on the offensive with a common project that defends international law, world trade, and its own interests."
Criticizing Trump's "aggressive" approach after his arrival at the White House, Díaz argued that it "is more reminiscent of a 19th-century labor model than a 21st-century one." She believes the EU should react by stepping out of the "digital isolation" it is currently in.
"The EU needs to wake up; we're dealing with a model of extreme concentration in a few multinational corporations' hands," she explained. "These corporations operate and accumulate wealth in a digital system unlike anything we've seen before, and Trump and his ideology, along with the far-right in Europe, aim to weaken the state even more."
During her participation in the OIT and EESC conference, Díaz met with the Director-General of the OIT, Gilbert Houngbo; the President of the European Economic and Social Committee, Oliver Röpke; and the Polish Minister of Family, Labor, and Social Policy, Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bak, who is currently presiding over the Council.
While the EU pursues self-reliant defense capabilities and autonomous foreign relations through recent legislative and financial initiatives, key developments include:
- ReArm Europe Plan: Aims to mobilize over €800 billion in collective defense spending by member states, prioritizing joint procurement and technological sovereignty.
- European Defense Industrial Program (EDIP): Proposes €1.5 billion from the EU budget (2025–2027) with strict "buy European" rules and mandates collaboration among at least six member states.
- Amendments to the Strategic Technologies Platform (STEP) integrate defense technologies into Horizon Europe, the Digital Europe Program, and the European Defense Fund, prioritizing capabilities identified in the White Paper on European Defense – Preparedness 2030.
Next steps include finalizing EDIP negotiations with the Council and enacting the Defense Omnibus proposal by June 2025, which aims to harmonize defense-industrial regulations. These efforts underscore the EU’s commitment to a cohesive, self-sufficient defense posture amid escalating global tensions.
- Minister Yolanda Díaz, standing firm in Brussels, resisted calls for increased defense spending from European leaders and instead advocated for a strategic EU project.
- Yolanda Díaz urged Europe to "wake up, win, and go on the offensive" in defense and foreign relations, arguing that the EU needs to defends international law, world trade, and its own interests.
- The ReArm Europe Plan aims to mobilize over €800 billion in collective defense spending by member states, prioritizing joint procurement and technological sovereignty.
- The European Defense Industrial Program (EDIP) proposes €1.5 billion from the EU budget (2025–2027) and mandates collaboration among at least six member states with strict "buy European" rules.
- Yolanda Díaz warns that Trump's actions, including trade threats and military demands, pose a threat to Euro-Atlantic stability and bring unnecessary pain to people's lives.
- In the General News, Yolanda Díaz's comments on the EU's need for a strategic defense project have attracted attention, as migration, war-and-conflicts, policy-and-legislation, and politics continue to shape global events.
