Ben Pawlowski
SPAIN has spent 2% of its GDP on defence so far this year, finally meeting NATO’s long-standing target eleven years after the goal was set.
According to data published by NATO, Spain spent 2% of its GDP on defence spending in 2025 up to June 3 – a 43.1% hike compared with the same period last year.
That equates to over €33 billion of investment this year alone.
Belgium, Czechia, Luxembourg and Portugal have also reached 2% after Donald Trump, the combative US president, forcefully lobbied NATO allies to up their contribution to the security alliance in an attempt to end Europe’s reliance on US defence spending.
All 31 member states currently allocate 2% of GDP to defence spending, a remarkable uptick given just 19 countries hit the target last year.
In a statement, Spain’s defence ministry celebrated the achievement, saying: “As a reliable and responsible partner, Spain not only responds to the needs of the alliance by providing troops to NATO missions, but also fulfils its commitment to achieve 2% of GDP in defence investments.”
READ MORE: Trump slams ‘terrible’ Spain and threatens to ‘make them pay double’ over NATO 5% of GDP snub
According to data from the defence ministry, some 3,000 members of the Spanish military are deployed under the umbrella of the alliance Spain joined in 1982, seven years after the death of fascist dictator Francisco Franco.
But Spain’s armed forces will have little time to rest on their laurels after NATO members struck an agreement earlier this year to spend 5% of GDP on defence and security by 2035 in a move praised by President Trump as a ‘big win for the US, Europe and Western civilisation’.
At the time, prime minister Pedro Sanchez claimed to have struck a last-minute deal with NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte that excluded Spain from the binding collective goal – but whether he can keep that vow remains up in the air.
In response, President Trump threatened to make Spain ‘pay twice as much’ as part of any future trade deal.
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