US EditionSpain Rejects NATO’s Anticipated 5% Defense Spending Proposal as 'Unreasonable'
- Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez sent a letter on June 19, 2025, rejecting NATO's proposed 5% GDP defense spending target ahead of the June 24-25 summit in The Hague.
- Sánchez called the 5% target unreasonable and requested a flexible formula to make it optional or exclude Spain from its application, reflecting domestic political challenges.
- Spain spent an estimated 1.28% of GDP on defense in 2024, the lowest among NATO's 32 members, and plans to raise spending by 10.5 billion euros to meet the previous 2% target.
- Most NATO allies, including Poland and the Baltic states, plan to endorse the 5% target to address the heightened threat from Russia since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, aiming to boost military and broader security spending.
- Spain's rejection risks alliance unity at the summit, though Spanish officials affirmed they will not obstruct outcomes and remain constructive allies amid ongoing defense spending discussions.
122 Articles
122 Articles
Spain rejects NATO’s defence spending plan
Spain has requested an exemption from NATO’s plan to increase member countries’ defence spending to 5 per cent of their gross domestic product, a move that Reuters reported on Thursday could derail a summit at which the military alliance plans to sign an agreement committing to the target. Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, sent a letter to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg requesting… Source
'Unreasonable, counterproductive': Spain's Sánchez rejects push to increase Nato defence spending to 5%
Spanish PM Sánchez has told Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte that the proposed increase in the alliance’s defence spending target to 5% of GDP would be "not only unreasonable, but also counterproductive", according to a report
»Not only unreasonable, but counterproductive«: in a strong letter to the SPIEGEL, Spain is opposed to NATO's ambitious spending plans. Is the dispute over money escalating before the summit on Wednesday?
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