Her prime minister Spain Pedro Sanchez said his government secured agreement with the NATO which allows it to avoid increasing the country’s defense spending to 5% of GDP (gross domestic product), as the alliance demanded.
“Spain has reached an agreement with NATO (…) that will allow us to meet the commitments to the Atlantic Alliance (…) without having to increase our defense spending up to 5% of GDP, Pedro Sanchez said in a television statement.
The alliance’s plan provides for costs of 5% for the coming years. Based on what has already been announced by NATO Secretary -General Mark Rutte, the target concerns 3.5 points of purely defensive costs and 1.5 points on safety and defense -related costs and investment, such as infrastructure, industry and durability. The initial time horizon for the implementation of the commitment is 2035, but it has not yet been finalized and the timetable is also expected to be a topic of debate among the leaders.