Spain wins exemption from NATO’s 5% defense spending goal

“We completely respect the legitimate desire of other countries to increase their defense investments, but we will not do that,” said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Sunday afternoon. The country can get defensive expenses of up to 2.1 %, “nothing more, nothing less”.

In a letter to the Secretary -General of Atlantic Treaties in North Atlantic on June 22, which Bloomberg saw, Sanchez said Spain will meet the targets of new weapons and soldiers, but without adhering to the price that NATO associated.

Root said in his own message to Sanchez on Sunday, that Spain will decide how to comply with the goals and that the statement approved at the summit will give Spain “flexibility” “to determine its sovereign path to reach the goals of power.

NATO said that 3.5 % of GDP was necessary to achieve these goals, an increase of 2 % currently, while the 1.5 % addition to defense spending will help it reach 5 % of Trump. Earlier on Sunday, the group amended the draft statement to the “Allied” to adhere to the spending of 5 % of the GDP of defense, from “we” we are committing, according to persons familiar with the talks.

People who asked not to be identified to discuss private considerations said that the amendment made a difference a difference aimed at providing more flexibility for commitment.

“We expect allied leaders to approve this statement officially” when they meet at the summit in The Hague. The statement will be issued to the public at the time, according to the official.

Sanchez’s opposition to the goal prompted 5 % – its description is unreasonable and the opposite consequences of his Belas – Trump to the mockery of Spain on Friday as a “low motivation” that should go up to defense.

NATO members will meet in The Hague against the background of Trump’s dramatic introduction to the United States in Israel’s attacks on Iran, while Europe is waiting for his decision on the levels of American forces in the region amid Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The allies rose to pressure on Spain to fall into the spending line, after persuading the skeptics, including Italy and Belgium, to wrap.

Sanchez offered to increase defense expenditures to 2.1 % of GDP but faces a recovery at home, including from the allies in his government.

“We believe that the discussion should not be about the percentage, but about the capabilities,” Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albaris told reporters in Brussels on Monday. “We can access the capabilities identified by the organization by 2.1 % that have been recognized and approved by the organization.”

While Rutte initially suggested the date of 2032 to reach the goal of spending, the latest delay project in 2035. It was also stripped of his desire to see mandatory annual increases, making the process easier for spending.

The current goal of NATO for member countries calls for the spending of 2 % of GDP to defense. Under the new goal, 1.5 % will go to a broader defense tunnel, such as cybersecurity, as well as the infrastructure for transporting military forces and equipment.

People said that the agreed standards are wide enough so that all allies should be able to meet this part of the plan quickly. The increase in basic defensive spending will be to 3.5 % of 2 % much more difficult.

As part of his routine operation, NATO will review the group and the forces that he deems necessary in 2029. The price associated with his capabilities at that stage can be adjusted, which may provide space for breathing for the lowest spectacles

Washington was pressuring to increase unprecedented defense expenses, on the pretext that European allies should bear the responsibility of their security.

“I don’t think we should do so, but I think they should do so,” Trump said late on Friday.