<h6></h6> <h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The White House has insisted that both Spain and "all European countries" must allocate 5% of their GDP to defense and security spending, after President of the Government <a href="https://thediplomatinspain.com/en/2025/06/20/sanchez-proposes-to-rutte-that-the-nato-summit-expressly-exclude-spain-from-the-5-commitment/">Pedro Sánchez</a> asked NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to include "a more flexible formula" in the Hague Summit declaration that would allow "Spain to be excluded" from this obligation.</strong></h4> US President Donald Trump "wants all European countries to pay their fair share and meet that 5% threshold," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said at a press conference on Thursday. "It's fair, considering that American taxpayers have contributed a considerable amount of money, equivalent to billions of dollars, to support our mutual interests and guarantee our defense," she continued. According to Leavitt, Trump “has made his priorities very clear for our European allies, including Spain.” “I haven't seen Spain's comments; I'll make sure the president sees them,” he added, regarding Pedro Sánchez's letter to Mark Rutte. The NATO Secretary General has presented a plan, in view of the Alliance Summit—to be held in The Hague on June 24 and 25—and based on a proposal by Donald Trump, to reach that 5 percent percentage by 2032, with a sustained annual increase that countries must declare and comply with. The only concession, likely “authorized” by the US president, would be distributed as follows: 3.5 percent for pure military spending and 1.5 percent for security-related infrastructure investments. <h5><strong>Sánchez's Letter to Rutte</strong></h5> In his letter to Rutte, Pedro Sánchez asserts that "Spain cannot commit to a specific spending target relative to GDP at this summit" because a 2.1 percent spending limit is sufficient to "acquire and maintain all the personnel, equipment, and infrastructure requested by the Alliance" in the "current Capability Target packages approved by our Defense Ministers in June 2025." Furthermore, the Prime Minister argues that a hasty increase of 5 percent "would force Spain to make purchases outside its borders," specifically from "non-European suppliers," which would negatively affect the development of "its own industrial base" and contribute to "slowing down" economic growth "through an increase in debt, inflationary pressures, and the diversion of investment from crucial activities with a greater multiplier effect than the defense industry, for example, education, healthcare, and digital technology." Likewise, Pedro Sánchez warns that “this level of spending could be incompatible with our Welfare State and our worldview.” “In the current context, and in accordance with the Capability Targets recently agreed with NATO, for us, balance means allocating 2 percent of our GDP to defense and security, while continuing to invest in diplomacy, trade, welfare policies, and development aid,” Sánchez asserts. Therefore, in his letter, he proposes “that a more flexible formula be included in this year's declaration, a formula that recognizes each ally's path to achieving their respective capability targets and makes the spending target optional, or a formula that excludes Spain from the application of the spending target.” “The formula I suggest would allow us to preserve the 5 percent target in the declaration for those allies that need or want to achieve it,” he concludes.
