The EU pushes Spain and Greece to provide Patriot missiles to Ukraine, as part of their stockpiles near expiration

According to Bloomberg, the European Union has proposed that Spain and Greece transfer Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine. Both countries hold the largest PAC-2 Patriot missile inventories in Europe, with some missiles approaching their expiration dates. This aid proposal will be formally discussed during a joint meeting of EU defense and foreign ministers in Dublin.

Given the current geopolitical situation, this EU initiative faces extremely complex practical challenges, and the two countries have taken starkly different positions:

Spain: Willing to supply missiles, but refuses to hand over the entire system

Spain currently operates three Patriot systems acquired second-hand from Germany, one of which has been deployed in Turkey since 2015, while the other two remain within the country. Under pressure from NATO, Spain’s Ministry of Defense has previously made it clear that it will not relinquish the Patriot system stationed in Turkey. However, the Spanish government has recently adopted a compromise solution: pledging to deliver five PAC-2 interceptors to Ukraine. Although these are not the latest model, each missile costs between $3 million and $4 million, making the total value approximately €15 million. This move responds to allied pressures while avoiding excessive depletion of Spain’s strategic air defense reserves.

Greece: Firmly resists, rejecting the request on grounds of national security

In contrast to Spain, Greece has shown strong resistance to the pressure to transfer its Patriot systems. Greek officials have explicitly stated that due to long-standing geopolitical rivalry with Turkey, the Patriot missile system is crucial for Greece’s domestic defense and deterrence capabilities, and thus cannot be provided to Ukraine. Although earlier reports from Greek media suggested that the U.S. had offered security guarantees and economic compensation—such as using funds from American aid to Ukraine for asset swaps—in exchange for lending out a PAC-3 system, the Greek government ultimately declined, citing concerns over the dispersion of its own air defense deployments and unwillingness to sacrifice national security.

The reason the EU is focusing specifically on Spain and Greece lies in the severe global imbalance between supply and demand for Patriot interceptors. On one hand, the United States, having become entangled in conflicts in the Middle East (particularly with Iran), has consumed a large portion of its own stockpile; its current PAC-3 interceptor inventory has dropped to dangerously low levels, leaving little capacity to supply Ukraine with substantial new ammunition in the short term. On the other hand, Russia’s annual production of ballistic missiles—such as the Iskander—now exceeds the global annual output of Western PAC-3 interceptors, placing Ukraine at a significant disadvantage in prolonged attrition warfare.

Therefore, although the EU seeks through the Dublin summit to encourage Spain and Greece to “draw from their stockpiles,” European nations themselves are also confronting the reality of dwindling air defense reserves. Finding a balance between “defending Ukraine” and “maintaining the national security of NATO member states” will be the most difficult challenge facing this meeting.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1875090107850764/

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