Spain opposing plan to increase NATO defense spending to 5%

Spain will oppose NATO plans to raise the target for defense spending of Alliance member countries to 5% of GDP.

This is reported by Bloomberg.

Thus, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in a letter, which came into the possession of the agency, that he will oppose a new spending proposal that the Alliance seeks to adopt at a summit next week.

"Spain cannot commit to a specific spending target as a percentage of GDP at this summit. For Spain, a commitment of 5% would be not only unreasonable but also counterproductive," Sanchez said in a letter dated June 19.

Meanwhile, leaders of the 32 member states will meet next week in The Hague to begin adapting the alliance to the challenges posed by russia's invasion of Ukraine and threats by US President Donald Trump to weaken US security efforts in Europe. Washington has been pushing for an unprecedented increase in defence spending, arguing that European allies must take responsibility for their own defence.

Some NATO countries, particularly those bordering russia, are said to agree that a 5% increase is necessary. But others, such as Spain, Italy and Portugal, have expressed doubts about the target and the timetable for achieving it.

While Rutte's initial proposal was to in order to reach 5% in 2032, it was decided during the negotiations before the summit to postpone this date to 2035. Of the total amount, 1.5% can be directed to broader security projects, rather than traditional military forces and assets.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, Czech President Petr Pavel previously called on the United States to give Europe more time to take care of the continent's security and deter an increasingly aggressive russia. In particular, he called on Washington to "not push Europeans into the abyss."

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has decided on the largest rearmament program since the Cold War. It provides for an extraordinary expansion and strengthening of deterrence and defense capabilities in the coming years.

On June 5, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that NATO allies cannot rely on the United States for defense and must step up their own efforts.

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