US President Donald Trump hinted on Thursday that Spain could face expulsion from NATO because of its reluctance to meet the alliance’s new, higher defence spending benchmark that he pushed through earlier this year.
‘We had one laggard, it was Spain,’ Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. ‘They have no excuse not to do this, but that’s all right. Maybe you should throw them out of NATO frankly.’ ALSO READ: NATO leaders agree to increase spending and reiterate ‘ironclad commitment’ to collective defence.
In June, the 32-member North Atlantic Treaty Organisation agreed to a dramatic increase in defence spending targets for the coming decade after intense pressure from Trump, who at the time warned that Madrid could face trade repercussions for resisting the new goal of allocating 5% of its GDP to defence. ALSO READ: Trump threatens Spain with trade war: ‘We’re going to make them pay double’.
Spain’s socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has maintained that Spain does not need to meet that headline figure, as the country remains among NATO’s lowest spenders in proportional defence outlay. ALSO READ: Spain reaches deal with NATO to be excluded from 5% defence spending goal.
The US president – who has frequently hinted that Washington might withhold its military protection from European allies that fail to invest more in defence – forced through the commitment requiring members to dedicate 5% of GDP to security-related spending. The move is widely viewed as central to keeping Trump engaged with the alliance.
Under the new agreement, the 5% target includes 3.5% for core military spending and an additional 1.5% for broader areas such as infrastructure and cybersecurity.
This replaces NATO’s previous guideline of 2%, first established in 2014. ALSO READ: Donald Trump on way to NATO summit: ‘There’s always a problem with Spain’.
According to Spanish media reports, ‘government sources’ have communicated that they are ‘utterly reassured’ and stressed that Spain ‘is a full member and committed to NATO’, saying that the country is meeting its capacity objectives ‘as much as the United States’.
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