Sánchez agrees with NATO to increase military spending to 2.1% and rejects reaching 5%

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced this Sunday a “very positive agreement” with NATO to increase Spain
 ‘s military spending to 2.1% of its Gross Domestic Product, and rejected reaching 5%, believing that it 
“makes no sense” and would be “wasting billions of euros” that would not help “make us safer“.

Sánchez appeared at Moncloa Palace shortly after six in the evening to read an institutional declaration, after which he did not accept questions , in which he stressed that this way the country will be able to “fulfill our commitments and preserve the unity” of the Atlantic Alliance “without having to increase defense spending to 5% “.

After highlighting that the world is currently going through “turbulent times” due to the war in Ukraine and the increase in tensions in the Middle East, Sánchez recalled that NATO has been demanding that its members double or even triple each country’s defense spending and emphasized that “we are not going to do that “.

The head of the Executive has argued that “it would be disproportionate and unnecessary” to reach 5% of GDP, even though others do so, because there is a “normal and inevitable asymmetry” and because their economic differences are very significant.

Sánchez emphasized that spending 2.1% is sufficient to “maintain all the personnel and equipment” required for Spanish defense policy : “No more, no less“. On the other hand, reaching 5% would divert much of that money to strengthen other countries’ industries.