Madrid has negotiated an exemption from NATO's ambitious defense objective—Prime Minister Sánchez called it excessive and detrimental to social stability.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced on Sunday that his country will not commit to NATO's new target of spending 5% of its GDP on defense by 2035. He described the goal as "unnecessary" and "disproportionate."

This decision comes after the 32 NATO member states reached a consensus on increasing defense budgets. However, Sánchez formally requested an exemption in a letter to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, warning that Spain's participation in the summit could be disrupted otherwise.

🔹 Spain's argument: The Prime Minister asserted that Spain, with all its NATO obligations in terms of personnel and equipment, has defense spending of 2.1% of GDP. Further budget increases, he warned, would threaten crucial social services like pensions or require tax increases.

🔹 Current Status: In 2023, Spain spent just 1.28% of its GDP on defense—the lowest in NATO. However, Madrid has pledged to accelerate its progress toward NATO's original target of 2% by the end of 2024.

✍️ Diplomatic Engagement Softens Engagement

Thanks to diplomatic negotiations, the final wording of the summit declaration was adjusted from “we commit” to “the allies commit,” allowing countries like Spain to opt out of the collective commitment without violating the agreement.

Trump Pressures Europe for More Spending

Former US President Donald Trump, along with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, has called for increased military budgets, not only for traditional defense but also for cybersecurity and infrastructure to support military logistics. This would increase total spending to around 5% of GDP. Trump warned that countries that fail to meet the targets should not expect protection from the United States.

He also reiterated his criticism of Spain's low defense spending and issued a warning. However, Sánchez stood firm, saying that attempting to achieve the 5% target would come at too high a cost to Spanish citizens.

#NATO ,#Geopolitics,#TRUMP,#worldnews, #Spain

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