NATO trying to overcome Spain's blocking of agreement to increase defense spending to 5% - Nordot

On Friday, the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) tried to overcome Spain's blockade of a new defense spending agreement that United States President Donald Trump demanded for next week's summit. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Thursday at the last minute thwarted preparations for the meeting in The Hague, strongly opposing the agreement to increase defense capabilities spending to 5% of GDP, UNN writes with reference to AFP.

Details

In a sharp letter to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Sánchez stated that the commitment to a total figure of 5% of GDP "would be not only unreasonable, but also counterproductive."

The statement by the Madrid leader of center-left forces angered other NATO members, who fear it could derail a carefully crafted compromise designed to ensure Trump's demands are met at the summit.

Ambassadors held a round of talks at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Friday, but ended without reaching an agreement. Several diplomats said talks could drag into the weekend to achieve a breakthrough or the start of the summit on Tuesday.

"There is no clarity yet," said one diplomat, who wished to remain anonymous to discuss ongoing discussions.

In an attempt to satisfy Trump's demand to spend 5% of GDP on defense, NATO Secretary General Rutte swayed allies toward a diplomatic compromise.

This would mean they would agree to allocate 3.5 percent to core military needs and 1.5 percent to a less critical category of defense-related spending, such as infrastructure and cybersecurity.

While a number of European capitals were reluctantly agreeing, NATO officials believed they were on track to reach an agreement at the Hague summit. Washington's allies fear that Trump, who has previously threatened not to defend countries he believes are not spending enough, could punch a hole in NATO if the White House chief doesn't get what he wants.

Spain was one of the NATO countries with the lowest defense spending in relative terms.

The country intends to reach the alliance's current target of 2% this year only after an injection of billions of euros ($11.5 billion) in payments.

Sánchez faces the difficult task of balancing unity with NATO allies and coaxing his junior coalition partner, the ultraliberal "Sumar" alliance, which is hostile to increased military spending.

Addition

Spain will not support NATO's proposal to raise the defense spending target to 5% of GDP. The country considers the current 2% sufficient and will block the plan at the Hague summit.

The North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) summit in The Hague will last only two and a half hours. This is due to United States President Donald Trump's unwillingness to spend time on long meetings.