Spain resists Trump’s push for 5% NATO defence spending target

Spain resists Trump’s push for 5% NATO defence spending target

Spain remains the final major obstacle to a NATO-wide agreement to boost defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2032—a target pushed forcefully by US President Donald Trump and central to a broader effort to reaffirm American security guarantees to Europe. With just weeks to go before key NATO meetings in Brussels and The Hague, Madrid’s hesitation is complicating the alliance’s plans for a united front, the Financial Times reported.

The proposal, championed by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and backed strongly by Washington, envisions a split target: 3.5% for core military expenditures, and another 1.5% for related investments such as cyberdefence and infrastructure. But despite intense lobbying, Spain has yet to publicly endorse the plan, officials briefed on the matter told the Financial Times.

US presses Madrid as NATO eyes June 5 defence ministers’ meeting

The pressure to secure Spanish support is building ahead of a June 5 defence ministers’ gathering in Brussels, where the alliance hopes to announce unanimous backing for the new pledge. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he urged Spain’s foreign minister José Manuel Albares to sign on during meetings in Washington this week.

“5 per cent is our number,” US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker reiterated. “We’re asking our allies to invest in their defence like they mean it.”

But Spain’s Socialist-led government has refrained from making a public commitment. Foreign Minister Albares confirmed he discussed the issue with Rubio but emphasized that Spain had only recently reached NATO’s longstanding 2% threshold and said the focus should now be on building actual capabilities rather than fixating on headline spending numbers.

Spain points to missions and past reluctance

Defence Minister Margarita Robles echoed that stance, saying Spain “understands that the important thing is not so much talking about specific percentages, but rather developing capabilities and fulfilling missions.” Madrid argues that its participation in NATO, EU, and UN operations is substantial, even if not captured in traditional budget metrics.

Until this year, Spain lagged behind in defence spending compared to most allies. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced earlier this month that Spain would finally meet NATO’s 2% target in 2024, unveiling a €10 billion defence investment package. He had previously pledged to hit that benchmark by 2029.

Now, as Trump ramps up pressure on Europe to match US spending and has warned that allies failing to do so could “lose US protection,” the stakes have grown. The upcoming leaders’ summit in The Hague on June 24 is widely seen as a crucial moment for NATO to present a unified vision—and reassure Washington of its burden-sharing credentials.

Domestic political and cultural constraints

For Madrid, the hesitation is not just fiscal—it’s cultural. Spain, like Italy, has a public that leans toward pacifism, with little perceived sense of imminent military threat. “Spain recognises the need to spend more than 2 per cent,” said Bernardo Navazo, head of the Madrid-based consultancy Geopolitical Insights. “But it has to build public support for it.”

Navazo warned that pushing for 5% may be politically unsustainable in countries where voters don’t view national defence as urgent, even amid Russia’s war in Ukraine. “The US target feels unrealistic,” he said.

What’s next?

If Spain agrees, NATO defence ministers could use the June meeting to set milestones for scaling up investment between now and 2032. For now, however, Madrid’s reluctance leaves that path uncertain—and risks diluting what was meant to be a powerful message of transatlantic unity.