President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he will have to talk to Spain to get it to increase its military budget, after stressing that it is the only NATO country that has not committed to spending more on defence.
In a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos to present the Gaza Peace Board, Trump reviewed his international achievements in the first year of his second term, including the agreement at the NATO summit in The Hague in which allied leaders committed to spending 5% on military expenditure.
‘I got commitments from virtually all NATO allies to increase their defence spending to 5% of GDP. All except Spain. I don’t know what’s going on with Spain,’ he said.
He questioned the position of Pedro Sánchez’s government, suggesting that it wants to ‘take advantage’ and not contribute to the collective effort. “I don’t know why. We’re going to have to talk to Spain,‘ he said, referring to the refusal to raise spending above 2%. Disagreements over the 5% military spending target have marked relations between Spain and the United States over the past year, and Trump has previously threatened to impose tariffs for what he considers Spain’s ’disrespectful” stance.
He even suggested that NATO should expel Spain as a member, although the Atlantic Alliance has no mechanism for expelling one of its allies and withdrawal is only possible on a voluntary basis. At the summit held in the Netherlands, Spain confirmed its support for the declaration establishing 5% as the new investment benchmark for 2035, following a letter in which NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte gave Spain more flexibility to meet its capability targets without being bound by a specific figure.