Walter Finch
SPAIN has formally told NATO it will not commit to spending 5% of GDP on defence, with Pedro Sanchez warning the alliance that such demands would devastate the country’s welfare state.
In a letter sent to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, the Spanish leader made clear that Spain ‘cannot commit at this summit to a specific spending target in terms of GDP’ that is being pushed by the United States.
Sanchez argued that meeting such demands would be ‘incompatible with our welfare state and our worldview.’
He warned that achieving 5% spending would force the government to either raise taxes on the middle class, cut public services and social benefits, or reduce commitments to environmental transition and international development.
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Spain’s rejection leaves it increasingly isolated within NATO, as it remains the only major country refusing to meet the heightened defence investment requirements.
The move comes despite earlier commitments from Sanchez to accelerate investment to reach the existing 2% GDP target this year.
The Prime Minister’s stance creates a significant political headache domestically, as his April pledge to invest €10.471 billion in defence was predicated on not reducing social spending by ‘a single euro.’
This promise was crucial to maintaining support from coalition partners who opposed increased military expenditure.
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Sanchez told NATO that Spain estimates it needs to spend just 2.1% of GDP, according to calculations by the country’s armed forces, to acquire and maintain all personnel, equipment and infrastructure required by the alliance.
He argued: “For Spain, committing to a 5% target would not only be unreasonable but counterproductive.”
Instead of accepting NATO’s demands, the Spanish government is proposing its own formula that would effectively exempt Spain from the 5% requirement.
Sanchez is advocating for a ‘3.5+1.5’ model, where 3.5% would go to traditional military spending on tanks, weapons and aircraft, whilst the remaining 1.5% could be counted from broader security-related investments.
The Prime Minister is pushing for NATO to adopt ‘a more flexible approach’ that would ‘make the spending target optional, or one that excludes Spain from the spending target.’
He pointed out that ‘similar exceptions have been made in the past for other allies.’
This would essentially allow NATO to retain the 5% target in official declarations whilst only applying it to allies who choose to pursue it, giving Spain an escape route from what Sanchez described as an ‘unreasonable’ financial burden.
The dispute highlights growing tensions within the alliance against the backdrop of the perception of an increasingly dangerous world, particularly from Russia, whilst member states balance military spending against domestic priorities.
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