{"id":3890,"date":"2025-06-20T11:49:29","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T11:49:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/developeternal.com\/?p=3890"},"modified":"2025-06-20T17:26:38","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T17:26:38","slug":"nato-split-over-5-spending-demand-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/developeternal.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/20\/nato-split-over-5-spending-demand-media\/","title":{"rendered":"NATO split over 5% spending demand \u2013 media"},"content":{"rendered":"
Spain has rejected the target as \u201cunreasonable\u201d ahead of the bloc\u2019s upcoming summit in The Hague<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has rejected NATO\u2019s proposal for member states to increase military spending to 5% of their GDP, calling the idea \u201cnot only unreasonable but also counterproductive.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Following US President Donald Trump\u2019s demands for a 5% target, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has called for every bloc member to raise military spending to 3.5% of GDP and commit a further 1.5% to wider security spending.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSpain will continue to fulfill its duty in the years and decades ahead and will continue to actively contribute to the European security architecture. However, Spain cannot commit to a specific spending target in terms of GDP at this summit,\u201d<\/em> Sanchez wrote in a letter to Rutte that emerged on Thursday in the media. \u201cIt is the legitimate right of every government to decide whether or not they are willing to make those sacrifices. As a sovereign ally, we choose not to.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Spain currently falls well behind other Western nations, allocating only about 1.3% of its GDP to military spending \u2013 significantly below NATO\u2019s 2% target.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Rutte previously called for cuts to social programs across the EU in order to fund the increased military outlays.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Since assuming office in January, Trump has intensified demands that the bloc\u2019s European members spend more on defense and has repeatedly accused them of failing to shoulder the burden equitably.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n