Spanish government approves a new agreement on the use of military bases

USPA NEWS - The Secretary of State of United States, John Kerry, signed in Madrid on Sunday the new agreement between Spain and the United States on the use of military bases on Spanish soil. The extension of the agreement was approved Friday by the Government of Spain.

The agreement in effect until now dated from 1988 and authorized the set of Spanish military bases used by US forces. In this situation are airbases Zaragoza and Moron de la Frontera, the latter in the province of Sevilla -South of the country-, and the Rota Naval Base in Cadiz, next to the Rock of Gibraltar. The agreement, which has been renewed since its signing on, allowed the temporary deployment of a reduced US military and a small number of aircraft force.

The reform of the agreement approved Friday by the Spanish Cabinet becomes permanent presence of the Armed Forces of the United States in the Spanish bases and expands the number of military and the media they control. As reported, after the Government meeting, the vice president of the Spanish government, Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, the new agreement will be signed on Sunday by the Secretary of State of the United States, John Kerry, who will visit Spain for two days for the first time since his appointment. Kerry will arrive in Madrid on Sunday and Monday will meet separately with the King of Spain, Philip VI; the Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, and Spanish Foreign Minister, Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo.

The new agreement provides for the deployment of 2,200 military -808 more than now- and 500 civilian in the air base in Moron de la Frontera, where they will have 26 aircraft -14 more than now-. This deployment meets the needs of the Pentagon, which asked the Spanish Government to amend the agreement on all the bases as part of its national defense project use. Moron de la Frontera will host a force acting in Africa, Europe and the Middle East, always with the aim of preventing conflicts and building a firewall against possible threats against the United States.

The vice president of the Spanish Government noted that for approval of the new agreement took into account that the new deployment had a positive impact on the economy and employment in the area where the air base is located. In this sense, the US Government will invest 29 million dollars in the construction of new infrastructure and open its civilian jobs for Spanish workers.