The Spanish authorities refuse the proposed US and supported by a number of other NATO countries to increase defence spending to 5% of gross domestic product. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez sent an official letter to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, in which he expressed a request to apply to Spain “more flexible formula” with regard to defence spending. The letter is quoted by a number of Western news agencies.
“For Spain, a commitment of 5 per cent would be not only unreasonable but counterproductive,” Sanchez wrote.
He said Madrid is willing to spend about 2.1 percent of GDP on defence – which is more than NATO’s previous desired level of defence spending. Previously, most alliance countries spent less; after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many of them increased their defence budgets.
NATO members are discussing an overall increase in defence spending to 5% of GDP. The alliance summit will be held on 24-25 June in The Hague with the participation of 32 heads of state and government, in particular US President Donald Trump. The main topic of the meeting is money. It is in The Hague that a new target for defence spending is to be formally agreed.
Spain became the first NATO country to officially refuse to go to the 5% target. Most countries have not committed to raising spending to 5% of GDP, but they have not explicitly rejected it either.
Some countries, including Poland and the Netherlands, have officially stated that they are ready for such an increase. Others, notably Germany, have announced plans to increase spending, but by smaller amounts.