NATO split over 5% spending demand
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has rejected NATO's proposal for member states to increase military spending to 5% of their GDP, calling the idea 'not only unreasonable but also counterproductive.'
Following US President Donald Trump's demands for a 5% target, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has called for every bloc member to raise military spending to 3.5% of GDP and commit a further 1.5% to wider security spending.
'Spain will continue to fulfill its duty in the years and decades ahead and will continue to actively contribute to the European security architecture. However, Spain cannot commit to a specific spending target in terms of GDP at this summit,' Sanchez wrote in a letter to Rutte that emerged on Thursday in the media. 'It is the legitimate right of every government to decide whether or not they are willing to make those sacrifices. As a sovereign ally, we choose not to.'
Spain currently falls well behind other Western nations, allocating only about 1.3% of its GDP to military spending – significantly below NATO's 2% target.
Rutte previously called for cuts to social programs across the EU in order to fund the increased military outlays.
Since assuming office in January, Trump has intensified demands that the bloc's European members spend more on defense and has repeatedly accused them of failing to shoulder the burden equitably.
Earlier this month, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer unveiled his cabinet's plan to significantly increase military spending. The move was backed by Rutte, who claimed that Russia could be ready to target NATO countries within the next five years. Leaders of the bloc are expected to agree to increase defense spending to contain the alleged threat.
Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed the rhetoric about the threat posed by Russia to NATO as an 'inconceivable lie' used by Western governments to justify tax increases and the diversion of public funds to the military-industrial complex.
Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Thursday, Putin warned that this kind of military posturing only escalates global tensions while diverting resources from social and economic development.
The Times reported on Wednesday that the upcoming NATO summit, scheduled for 24-25 June in The Hague, is expected to be unusually brief with just one working meeting lasting two and a half hours.
The outlet reported that the format of the summit was altered in light of Trump's dislike of lengthy diplomatic meetings.
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