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Rutte recently said members must reach 2% in the coming months, rather than years.
News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte visits Madrid [EPA-EFE/JUANJO MARTIN]
Languages: Français | Deutsch
MADRID – As Spain struggles to shake off Trump’s criticism of its NATO spending, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is set to meet NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Madrid, and the issue is sure to be high on the agenda.
Trump has long-criticised NATO members who do not meet the 2% threshold, threatening to leave them out in the cold unless they put their hands in their pockets. Last week, Spain was caught in the crossfire, as Trump, wrongly calling the EU and NATO member a ‘BRICS’ country, threatened 100% tariffs.
At present, Spain does not meet the minimum threshold of 2% of the national GDP recommended by the alliance, let alone the 5% demanded by Trump. It remains the lowest spender among the 32 NATO members, with just 1.28%.
However, as Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles (PSOE/S&D) pointed out last week, Madrid is committed to reaching the 2% target by 2029. Meanwhile, most NATO members have already reached the target, with Poland set to attain 4.7% this year.
In the midst of this delicate debate, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos that if Alliance members do not increase their spending quickly, they will not be able to defend themselves collectively in “four or five years”.
“Those who are not at 2% have to get to 2% in a couple of months. We can’t wait any longer”, Rutte warned.
In the same vein, EU diplomatic chief Kaja Kallas admitted in Davos last week that Trump was right to demand that Europe spend more on defence.
“President Trump is right to say that we (in the EU) do not spend enough,” the Estonian politician said.
Trump’s criticism last week of several EU partners for their low defence budgets, particularly Spain, was echoed by Sánchez in an interview with US broadcaster CNBC, where he reiterated that Spain is a “reliable” NATO partner and will meet its spending commitments, Spanish public broadcaster RTVE reported.
(Fernando Heller | Euractiv.es)
Languages: Français | Deutsch
Updated: 27-01-2025
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