Spain has announced that it will invest an additional €10.4 billion in defense in order to meet NATO’s 2% target by 2025. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez emphasized that Spain remains a pacifist country and that the new investments are intended as a deterrent to those who might think of attacking Europe. Less than a fifth of the funds will be used for the purchase of arms, with the majority of the investment going towards improving the working conditions of troops, new telecom technologies, cybersecurity, defense and deterrence tools, and support for emergency and natural disaster management.
The Spanish government plans to raise the country’s defense and security spending to around €34 billion in 2025 without affecting citizens’ pockets by not foreseeing any tax increases, growth in public debt, or cuts to the welfare state. The money for the investments will come from post-pandemic recovery funds, government savings from economic growth, and margins from items no longer needed in the budget. Sánchez assured that most of the investments will benefit Spanish businesses, with less than 5% being spent outside the EU. The goal of this project is to make a new technological and industrial leap for Spain.
The Spanish security and defense plan is set to be submitted for analysis to the European Commission and NATO. Spain has been the most laggard NATO country in meeting the defense spending target of 2% agreed upon in 2014, with the benchmark expected to be raised to at least 3% during the NATO annual summit in June. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has urged all allies to increase military spending to close capability gaps and ensure continental security in the face of potential aggression. Former US President Donald Trump had demanded that allies raise spending to 5% of their GDP, a figure no ally currently meets.
European NATO members have acknowledged the need to increase defense spending in the coming years, with Italy announcing last week that it will meet the 2% target later this year. Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti stated that Italy is fully aware of the need to increase such spending, especially in light of current tensions. The commitment to increasing burden-sharing within the alliance is evident as allies work towards meeting their defense spending targets to ensure collective security and deter potential threats.
