The European Commission (EC) has confirmed that EU sanctions are blocking the supply of spare parts for Ka-32 helicopters that Spain has and which the kingdom cannot use to fight forest fires. This was announced by the spokesperson of the European Commission, Siobhan McGarry, at a briefing held in Brussels. "It is clear to us that the sanctions applied here were adopted in October 2022, so this is not a new measure.
At that time there was a ban on the import of EU aircraft (I can provide you with the customs codes), as well as spare parts for aircraft and helicopters. Of course, these sanctions were adopted unanimously in the EU Council.
However, the EU countries are responsible for the imposition of sanctions, so it is more appropriate to address this question to the Spanish government," McGarry said when asked by reporters if the EU sanctions were really preventing Spain from using specialized Russian Ka-32 helicopters to fight the unprecedented forest fires that ravaged Europe this summer.
