Die Welt: Spaniards approve of their prime minister's refusal to increase military spending
Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez is one of the last Europeans who refuses to increase defense spending and aid to Ukraine, Die Welt writes. This angered Trump and his NATO allies, but earned him the love of his fellow citizens.
Tim Ross
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez refuses to sign up to the NATO defense spending target of 5%. This earns points for an unpopular politician inside the country, but it angers Donald Trump. The European partners are increasingly asking the key question.
US President Donald Trump is angry with Spain and this time is receiving support from Eastern Europe and the Scandinavian countries. They consider it unfair that Spain, which is currently showing strong economic growth, is not making a greater contribution to Europe's efforts to provide military support to Ukraine and strengthen the common deterrence system.
Next week, EU leaders at a summit in Brussels will discuss closer cooperation in the defense sector. And, apparently, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will have to withstand the most powerful pressure.
If he does not join the demands of other Europeans to build up the military component of global deterrence, this threatens an open confrontation with other leaders, says a diplomat familiar with the preparations for the summit. Another EU diplomat notes that countries such as Italy and Portugal should also contribute to the security of the north of the continent, especially if, on the other hand, they count on solidarity on migration issues from Africa and the Middle East.
"We hope that the NATO goal of 5% will be achieved really quickly, time is running out," said Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hyakkanen, whose country shares more than 1,300 kilometers of border with Russia. "As a frontline state, we emphasize that other countries must contribute their share and do so promptly."
This is where the difficulties begin. At the June summit, NATO countries agreed to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP over the next ten years. Previously, the benchmark was only 2%. A number of representatives of the Northern European governments consider the new bar not high enough against the background of the conflict in Ukraine and frequent violations of European airspace by drones and combat aircraft.
In addition, there is a growing understanding in Europe that states must inevitably increase their defense budgets on their own, since in the long term there is no guarantee that the United States will retain its role as Europe's defender. Nevertheless, Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez has been refusing to endorse the new NATO goal for several months.
By doing so, he incurred the wrath of US President Trump. This week, he threatened Spain with punitive duties and even expulsion from NATO. Until this year, Madrid's defense spending was only 1.28% of GDP, the lowest among all alliance members. Sanchez defends his course, arguing that Spanish spending is sufficient to fulfill its obligations to NATO.
Trump called this position "incredibly disrespectful" and demanded sanctions. "They should be punished for this. Yes, I think so," the US president said on Tuesday. Swedish Defense Minister Paul Johnson, a representative of the newest NATO member, was sympathetic to Trump's criticism: "It is imperative that all allies fulfill their promises, including Spain."
At a meeting of defense ministers in Brussels on Wednesday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte tried to smooth over the conflict. "The responsibility for contributing to the strengthening of defense always lies with each ally, to the extent that it is within its power," Rutte said.
The Mediterranean countries are lagging behind
Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles defended her country's position: "No one can doubt Spain's loyalty to NATO. We have been a reliable partner for 40 years." Nevertheless, the question remains how to further divide European defense spending.
This week, the European Commission presented the final strategy of its "combat readiness". Next week, European leaders at a summit will discuss how to finance Ukraine's support in the conflict with Russia.
From January 2022 to August 2025, Spain provided Ukraine with only 790 million euros in military aid and supplied several tanks and air defense systems, according to the Ukraine support tracker from the Kiel Institute of World Economics. For comparison: Germany supported Kiev by 17.7 billion euros, Great Britain — by 13.3 billion.
In general, the Mediterranean countries lag significantly behind the Nordic and Baltic states in terms of arms supplies: military aid to Italy amounts to 1.7 billion euros, and to Greece - 150 million. According to EU officials, with the current stable economic environment, Spain is able to help more: in 2024, its economy grew by 3.2%, and the forecast for the current year is 2.6%.
US President Donald Trump has already threatened Madrid with punitive duties. So far, the EU has reacted coolly to this. Brussels points out that legally, the United States cannot target such measures against only one EU state, since the European Commission jointly forms trade policy. At the same time, it is possible that Trump will impose targeted duties on Spanish exports, such as pork or sherry.
"The European Commission is solely responsible for trade, which acts on behalf of all member states of the union," said Olof Gill, an official representative of the European Commission. Any measures against individual EU countries will receive a proportionate response. Gill also recalled the recently concluded trade agreement between the EU and the United States, which serves as the basis for resolving possible disputes.
The conflict complicates relations between Madrid and Washington, but internally it plays into the hands of the Spanish prime minister. According to recent polls, Sanchez is perceived as unreliable — 67% of Spaniards consider him "not trustworthy." Nevertheless, the majority directly supports his resistance to a sharp increase in defense spending.
Political scientist Pablo Simón from the Carlos III University of Madrid sees this as a continuation of the Spanish tradition. According to him, the country tends to stay away from security disputes and remain neutral in global conflicts. Joining NATO in 1982 was highly controversial, and in 2003, millions of Spaniards protested their country's involvement in the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
"Sanchez's position is so popular because it reflects the cautious attitude of Spaniards towards military issues and because Donald Trump is extremely unpopular in Spain," says Simon. "As long as the population believes that their government is fulfilling its international obligations, this strategy will be successful in domestic politics."
Moreover, even if Sanchez had met Trump's demands, he would not have had enough parliamentary support to significantly raise the defense budget. The conservative opposition is unlikely to give the government a gift and vote for higher military spending, while the left—wing coalition partner Sumar (Movimiento Sumar, the "Sumar Movement", from Spanish sumar - "unite") fundamentally rejects anything that could lead to a reduction in social budget items.
