Thursday Feb 16, 2023 - Spain - Ukraine Leopard battle tanks training in Spain, Missile Batteries in Estonia

These are some of the Trending news in Spain on Thursday February 16 2023.

Spain is set to train 55 crew members and technicians from Ukraine on Leopard main battle tanks. The crew will arrive in Spain by the end of the week. Spain is one of the NATO countries that agreed to supply Ukraine with tanks in principle, but the quantity of tanks Spain will send to Ukraine is still unknown. The announcement comes after the German Defence Minister dispelled hopes that European states would quickly form a battalion of modern Leopard 2 tanks, stating that only 14 tanks promised by Germany and three promised by Portugal are currently ready to be sent. The supply of the remaining tanks from other countries is not being discussed at the moment.

Spain will deploy a missile battery in Estonia in April as part of its NATO contribution. The move comes after Margarita Robles, Spain's Minister of Defence, met with her Estonian counterpart and agreed that Spanish Armed Forces will deploy a battery of Nasams missiles in the northwest of the country. The deployment will last for four months and will provide protection for the Amari Air Base in Estonia, one of the bases where allied fighters, including Spanish jets, are deployed on Baltic Air Policing missions. After this deployment, Spain will have two missile defence batteries in the Baltic area. The contingent is also expected to consist of about 85 troops.

Spain's new restructuring law is being put to the test as the economy slows down. The law, just over four months old, aims to help cut high bankruptcy rates by streamlining and speeding up the debt restructuring process. Eurostat figures show that business bankruptcy declarations in Spain jumped 66% in the third quarter of 2022 from the previous one, compared to an average rise of 16% for the European Union. Companies and officials are hopeful that the new law will help address this problem. The success of this reform will be crucial for Spain's economic recovery.

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