U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday expressed his dissatisfaction with Spain’s comparatively low military expenditure before his arrival at the NATO summit in The Hague.
Trump told journalists on the flight from Washington to Europe that Spain’s defence spending was “unfair” to the others.
Trump also posted a chart depicting defence expenditure by NATO allies on his social media platform Truth Social.
Spain ranks at the bottom of the graphic.
The U.S. president wrote that he will be discussing it soon with the Members of NATO.
Allies are expected to commit on Wednesday to increasing their annual defence-related expenditure to at least 5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035, following persistent pressure from Washington.
Under the plans, at least 3.5 per cent of GDP is to be allocated to traditional military expenditure and an additional 1.5 per cent of GDP to related expenses including infrastructure.
The new spending target represents a huge challenge for many of the 32 NATO states, and has not been without opposition.
NATO ally Spain, one of the biggest laggards when it comes to defence spending, publicly opposed the plans just days before the summit, saying it had not committed to the new target as it was “not only unreasonable but even counterproductive.
According to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Madrid has assured him that it can meet the new capability targets by spending less than 3.5 per cent on defence.
He said in a press conference ahead of the summit, however, that NATO is absolutely convinced Spain will have to aim for the new spending pledge to comply with its capability requirements.
