NATO reaches spending agreement, Spain's demand for exemption risks Trump's wrath

(Patria) - NATO on Sunday signed a pledge to increase defense spending ahead of the upcoming summit, but official Madrid insisted it would not have to reach the five percent of GDP demanded by US President Donald Trump, AFP reported.

The statement by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez creates a potential conflict with Trump, who has been pressuring allies to commit to that figure when they meet for a two-day gathering starting Tuesday in The Hague.

Spain was the last to oppose a compromise agreement in which allies promise to reach 3.5 percent for basic military needs over the next decade and spend 1.5 percent on a looser category of "defense-related expenditure" such as infrastructure and cybersecurity.

Several NATO diplomats said the agreement, which is to be presented at the summit, was adopted with the approval of all 32 countries and that there is no exemption for Madrid.

However, within minutes Sanchez stated that he had reached an agreement with NATO under which his country would continue to meet its obligations "without needing to increase its defense spending to five percent of gross domestic product."

"We understand the difficulty of the geopolitical context, we fully respect the legitimate desire of other countries to increase their defense investments, if they wish, but we will not do so," he said.

NATO diplomats now fear that Spain's stance could undermine its carefully choreographed demonstration of unity with Trump in The Hague, which already risks being overshadowed by the US decision to strike Iran.

"It's not right," said one diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Madrid's claims followed Sanchez's last-minute sabotage on Thursday of preparations for the gathering in the Netherlands, taking a strong stance against the agreement.
In a sharp letter to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Sanchez said that committing to a headline figure of five percent of GDP "would not only be unreasonable, but also counterproductive."

This prompted a warning from Trump that "Spain must pay what everyone else has to pay."

"NATO will have to deal with Spain," he told reporters on Friday, calling the country "notorious" for spending less on defense than other alliance members.

The outburst by the center-left Spanish leader angered other NATO members who are desperate to keep Trump, who has threatened not to protect allies who spend too little on defense.

The pledge is seen as key both to appeasing Trump and to helping NATO build the forces needed to deter Russia.

After several days of wrangling between Sanchez and Rutte, officials said Spain signed the pledge on Sunday. Diplomats said the wording around the spending pledge in the summit's final declaration was slightly softened from "we commit" to "allies commit."

They insisted the fundamentals of the agreement remained intact and applied to Spain. But government sources in Madrid said the linguistic change meant only those countries that signed up were covered by the pledge and that Rutte would send a letter to Sanchez saying Spain would have "flexibility."
Sanchez faces a difficult balancing act between aligning with NATO allies and persuading his junior coalition partner, the far-left Sumar alliance, which is hostile to increasing military spending.

Spain is one of the lowest-spending NATO countries on defense. The country will only reach the alliance's current target of two percent this year after a ten-billion-euro injection.