Prime Minister's Office of Spain

03/05/2026 | Press release | Archived content

Pedro Sánchez, in his meeting with Airbus, reaffirms the Government's commitment to the aerospace sector

Pedro Sánchez, in his meeting with Airbus, reaffirms the Government's commitment to the aerospace sector

President's News - 2026.3.5

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, has held a meeting with the CEO of Airbus, Guillaume Faury, and has reaffirmed the Executive's commitment to investment in the security and defence sector, and in the aeronautical and space industry.

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, greets the CEO of Airbus, Guillaume Faury, before their meeting at the Moncloa Palace (Pool Moncloa / Borja Puig de la Bellacasa)

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The meeting was also attended by the Minister for Defence, Margarita Robles, the Minister for Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, and the Minister for Science, Innovation and Universities, Diana Morant.

Pedro Sánchez thanked Airbus for its cooperation in recent years and for working together with the Government to advance and guarantee Europe's strategic autonomy in the field of defence and aerospace, and to face the challenges of competitiveness. In this regard, they agreed on the need to strengthen dialogue and public-private cooperation in industrial defence programmes, space activities, the industrial presence of commercial aviation and progress in R&D, among others. The overall aim with these actions is to contribute to the consolidation of employment in the sector and help to preserve Spain's technological and industrial capacities in the coming years.

During the meeting, they also discussed the increase in Government investment in security and defence, having reached 2% of GDP by 2025. In this regard, the Executive has launched the National Helicopter Plan within the framework of the Industrial and Technological Plan for Security and Defence, with a budget of €10.74 billion to improve the conditions of the armed forces, modernise their equipment and develop new technologies without compromising social spending or development cooperation.

In addition, Spain has doubled its contribution to the European Space Agency (ESA), with a record contribution of €455 million per year between 2026 and 2030, which represents a historic investment of €2.3 billion in total, placing Spain among the four countries with the highest contribution.

Today's meeting continues the collaboration between the Government of Spain and Airbus, which began in 2020, and last year's joint statement on strengthening relations, signed to advance in strategic areas of collaboration, such as employment, financing, competitiveness and R&D&I, commercial aviation, defence, and space and helicopters.

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