Spain's Defence Spending: A Balancing Act Amid NATO Pressures

Spain is standing firm on its defence spending target of 2% of GDP, Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles confirmed on Thursday. This statement comes amid escalating pressure from NATO and the United States for Spain to increase its military expenditures.

Robles emphasized that the 2% target is sufficient for Spain to fulfill its commitments but noted that the country would not block any NATO decision to raise the target during an upcoming summit in The Hague. The statement reflects Spain's balancing act as it seeks to meet international expectations while maintaining control over its own financial commitments.

This decision follows Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's April announcement of an increase in military spending by 10.5 billion euros for this year. Despite these measures, Spain—currently only committing 1.3% of GDP to defence, the lowest among NATO nations—is under pressure from European Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius to boost spending to 3% of GDP.

(With inputs from agencies.)