Brussels positions itself with Spain against Donald Trump. A spokesperson for the European Commission indicated this Wednesday that “we will respond appropriately, as we always do, to any measure taken against one or more of our member states” in the face of the US president's threats to Spain because it has not committed to increasing defense spending to 5% of GDP.
The US president said that “it is very disrespectful to NATO. In fact, I was thinking of imposing trade punishment on them through tariffs for what they did. And I think I could do it, it is incredibly disrespectful, the only one of all the NATO countries that said that is Spain, and I think they should be punished for it.”
Although the European Commission has assumed Trump's threat as a “hypothetical scenario”, which has little sign of coming true, they have also reaffirmed that “issues related to trade are under the exclusive competence of the European Commission acting on behalf of all EU Member States.”
In this sense, the Commission has recalled that “there is a trade agreement between the EU and the United States in force. This is the platform to address any trade or trade-related issue.”
Spain had already responded to Trump. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has defended that “Spain is a reliable ally” within NATO and that its commitment to Euro-Atlantic security cannot be questioned in any way.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has chosen to maintain a certain equidistance while still praising the president of the United States. “President Trump has been extremely important in turning the NATO Summit into a success. We would never have reached a spending of 5% of GDP on Defense. Thanks to him we did it because we have to achieve scalability objectives and if Article Five is activated (an armed attack against one or more of its members will be considered an attack against all) we can do what is necessary to combat the adversary, whether it is Russia or terrorism. But also because that is how we are equal in defense spending. He's pushing for it and I'm pushing for the same. In The Hague there was unanimity. “Spain fully accepted the capacity objectives.”
Spain agreed to reach the military capacity objectives set by NATO but increasing military spending to 2.1% of GDP. In 2029, a supervision mechanism is planned with the first evaluation to verify whether these capabilities have been achieved.
The controversy comes when NATO Defense Ministers meet this Wednesday in Brussels to discuss new defense needs in the face of airspace violations by Russia and military support for Ukraine. The US Secretary of Defense has tried to mark the path of the debate in NATO by ensuring that “more must be spent to achieve peace” in Ukraine.