The Diplomat
Spain is, with 1.03% of GDP, the penultimate NATO country in terms of defense spending, according to the Alliance’s 2021 annual report presented yesterday in Brussels by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
During the presentation, Stoltenberg highlighted that 2021 was “the seventh consecutive year of increased defense spending in the European allies and Canada,” representing an increase of 3.1% in real terms and a total of $270 billion additional since 2014. Separately, allies recently announced significant increases in spending and the acquisition of cutting-edge capabilities, and at last week’s NATO Extraordinary Summit they “agreed that we must redouble our efforts to invest more, and more rapidly, in our defense,” he said.
By 2021, eight allies met the guideline of spending 2% of their GDP on defense, up from just three allies in 2014, according to the report. Leading the way were Greece and the US, which at 3.59% and 3.57%, respectively, far exceeded the so-called Wales Commitment, adopted during the 2014 Summit and calling on allies to spend 2% of their GDP on defense by 2024 and to allocate at least 20% of annual defense spending to renewing military capabilities.
The report also reveals that Spain invested 1.03% of its GDP in defense in 2021, which places our country in the penultimate place on the list, only above Luxembourg. Despite this, the percentage allocated by Spain in 2021 was the highest since 2014, when only 0.92% was devoted to defense. Compared to 2020, the defense budget in Spain increased by 6.94%, well above the 1.8% increase of the NATO total and even the 3.11% increase of the total of the European allies and Canada (in the United States, the increase was 1.23%).
In mid-March, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, announced the Executive’s intention to increase defense spending to 2% of GDP. The announcement, which took place a few days after the informal European Council of Versailles, convened by the French Presidency of the EU and in which European leaders urged a “substantial” increase in defense spending in the face of the new security challenges arising from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, was opposed by Unidas Podemos and most of Sánchez’s parliamentary supporters. Not even the second vice-president, Yolanda Díaz, who dissociated herself from the rejection of ministers Ione Belarra and Irene Montero regarding the shipment of arms to Ukraine, publicly supported the president’s position.
In this regard, Sanchez himself reiterated this past Wednesday before the plenary session of the Congress that “the defense of peace requires adequate resources”, especially after the outbreak of war in Ukraine. Therefore, taking into account Spain’s commitment as a “member of the European Union and also of NATO”, our country has the “duty” to “achieve in defense that 2% of our Gross Domestic Product over the next few years”, he continued. “I am not talking about a sudden increase, because the Ministry itself would not have the capacity to absorb all those resources and financial capabilities. Therefore, I am not talking about a sudden increase, but a progressive one,” he specified. “However, we are going to continue investing in new capabilities over and above the commitment acquired at the NATO Summit, of 20% of the total budget, which will allow us to promote something very important, which is the defense industry,” he added.
On March 22, the Defense Committee of the Congress asked the Government -with the abstention of Unidas Podemos- to increase “progressively” the budget expenditure on Defense until it reaches two percent of the GDP.
Margarita Robles
For her part, the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, reiterated yesterday, during a visit to the Morón Air Base, that the Government is willing to continue increasing the Defense budget until it reaches the 2% committed with its partners and allies, although she warned, without further details, that this increase is planned “in the long term” and will have to be implemented in the coming years.
Robles also pointed out that Spain has already sent a total of ten aircraft loaded with weapons, defensive material and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. The planes, she added, have been landing in a border country – although without providing further details for security reasons – for the unloading of the material and its subsequent shipment to the Ukrainian resistance. The minister assured that shipments will continue to be made according to Ukraine’s needs and the availability of the Armed Forces. “Spain’s disposition, as well as that of the rest of NATO countries and the European Union, is to help as many Ukrainian citizens as possible. Whatever is necessary we will send,” she stated.
