Spain rejects NATO鈥檚 anticipated 5% defense spending proposal as 鈥榰nreasonable鈥�

A Spanish soldier places a NATO flag next to a Spanish flag and Turkish flag during the NATO Exercise Dynamic Mariner 25 military drill training in Barbate, Spain, on March 28, 2025. (REUTERS)
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  • Most US allies in NATO are on track to endorse Trump鈥檚 demand that they invest 5 percent of GDP on defense and military needs
  • But Spanish PM S谩nchez鈥檚 decision risks derailing next week鈥檚 NATO summit, which could have lingering repercussions

MADRID: Spain has rejected a NATO proposal to spend 5 percent of gross domestic product on defense needs that鈥檚 due to be announced next week, calling it 鈥渦nreasonable.鈥�
Prime Minister Pedro S谩nchez, in a letter sent on Thursday to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, said that Spain 鈥渃annot commit to a specific spending target in terms of GDP鈥� at next week鈥檚 NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands.
Any agreement to adopt a new spending guideline must be made with the consensus of all 32 NATO member states. So S谩nchez鈥檚 decision risks derailing next week鈥檚 summit, which US President Donald Trump is due to attend, and creating a last-minute shakeup that could have lingering repercussions.
Most US allies in NATO are on track to endorse Trump鈥檚 demand that they invest 5 percent of GDP on their defense and military needs. In early June, Sweden and the Netherlands said that they aim to meet the new target.
A NATO official on Thursday said that discussions between allies were ongoing about a new defense spending plan.
鈥淔or Spain, committing to a 5 percent target would not only be unreasonable, but also counterproductive, as it would move Spain away from optimal spending and it would hinder the EU鈥檚 ongoing efforts to strengthen its security and defense ecosystem,鈥� S谩nchez wrote in the letter seen by The Associated Press.
Spain was the lowest spender in the trans-Atlantic alliance last year, directing less than 2 percent of its GDP on defense expenditure.
S谩nchez said in April that the government would raise defense spending by 10.5 billion euros ($12 billion) in 2025 to reach NATO鈥檚 previous target of 2 percent of GDP.
On Thursday, S谩nchez called for 鈥渁 more flexible formula鈥� in relation to a new spending target 鈥� one that either made it optional or left Spain out of its application.
S谩nchez wrote that the country is 鈥渇ully committed to NATO,鈥� but that meeting a 5 percent target 鈥渨ould be incompatible with our welfare state and our world vision.鈥� He said that doing so would require cutting public services and scaling back other spending, including toward the green transition.
Instead, Spain will need to spend 2.1 percent of GDP to meet the Spanish military鈥檚 estimated defense needs, S谩nchez said.
At home, corruption scandals that have ensnared S谩nchez鈥檚 inner circle and family members have put the Spanish leader under increasing pressure to call an early election, even from some allies.
Increased military spending is also unpopular among some of Sanchez鈥檚 coalition partners. In April, when S谩nchez announced that Spain would reach NATO鈥檚 previous 2 percent spending target, the move angered some coalition members further to the left of his Socialist Party.
NATO allies agreed to spend 2 percent of GDP on military expenditure after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. But the alliance鈥檚 plans for defending Europe and North America against a Russian attack require investments of at least 3 percent.
The aim now is to raise the bar to 3.5 percent for core defense spending on tanks, warplanes, air defense, missiles and hiring extra troops. A further 1.5 percent would be spent on things like roads, bridges, ports and airfields so armies can deploy more quickly, as well as preparing societies for possible attack.
Several allies have committed to reaching the new spending goal, even though other nations will struggle to find the billions required.
Rutte had been due to table a new proposal on Friday aimed at satisfying Spain and trying to break the deadlock. European allies and Canada want to end the standoff before the leaders meet with Trump on Wednesday.
Poland and the Baltic countries 鈥� Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania 鈥� have already publicly committed to 5 percent, and Rutte has said that most allies were ready to endorse the goal.
But Spain isn鈥檛 alone among NATO鈥檚 low spenders. Belgium, Canada and Italy will also struggle to hike security spending by billions of dollars.
A big question still to be answered is what time frame countries will be given to reach an agreed-upon new spending goal.
A target date of 2032 was initially floated, but Rutte has said that Russia could be ready to launch an attack on NATO territory by 2030.