Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 25, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
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Spain does not expect repercussions for not meeting NATO's 5% GDP defense spending target, maintaining commitments as a reliable ally.
MADRID (Reuters) -Spain said on Wednesday it did not expect any repercussions from its decision not to meet a defence spending target of 5% of gross domestic product that NATO member states are expected to set at a summit in The Hague.
"Spain will be a responsible ally," Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo told Bloomberg TV in an interview, adding that Madrid would meet all its commitments on its military capabilities despite spending less than 5% of GDP.
"No repercussions should derive from making good on our commitments and from being a reliable NATO ally, covering for the capabilities that we did commit to and that are necessary to defend NATO."
NATO leaders meeting in The Hague on Wednesday were expected to endorse the higher defence spending goal of 5% of GDP in response to a demand by U.S. President Donald Trump. Doing so would also address the security concerns of European countries over Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Sunday that Madrid would not spend more than 2.1% of its GDP on defence because its commitments towards NATO on its military capabilities did not require more.
Cuerpo also told Spanish radio station RNE that Spain would review its spending when or if the NATO capabilities requirements are revised.
"Spain will certainly be up to the task when these necessary capabilities are updated," he said.
(Reporting by Inti Landauro; editing by Charlie Devereux, Aislinn Laing and Timothy Heritage)
Spain has stated it will not exceed a defense spending target of 2.1% of its GDP, despite NATO's goal of 5%.
Carlos Cuerpo emphasized that Spain would be a responsible ally and would meet its military commitments, even if it does not reach the 5% spending target.
Cuerpo mentioned that Spain would review its defense spending if NATO's capabilities requirements are revised in the future.
The 5% spending goal was discussed among NATO leaders in response to a demand by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Both Economy Minister Cuerpo and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez assured that Spain would fulfill its commitments to NATO regarding necessary military capabilities.
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