Spain spent $21.3 billion on defense in 2024, according to estimates by the transatlantic military alliance. However, that expenditure represents only 1.28 percent of Spain’s GDP, the lowest percentage among member countries.
During his first term in office, Trump often criticized European NATO countries for failing to meet the agreed defense spending target of 2 percent of their GDP.
The U.S., for its part, spent 3.38 percent of GDP on defense in 2024, NATO estimates show.
Sánchez’s rebuttal came after Trump said Monday that “Spain is very low” on its contribution to the NATO alliance. (He then confused the country with a member of the BRICS group of emerging economies that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and others.)
Now, the U.S. president wants that figure to be raised to 5 percent, which would see Madrid falling even further from the goal. While a new 5 percent target would mark a significant increase, it has already gained support from other European NATO members such as Poland, Estonia and Lithuania.
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Publish date : 2025-01-22 08:21:00
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The post Sánchez hits back at Trump after criticism of Spain’s defense spending – POLITICO first appeared on Love Europe.
Author : love-europe
Publish date : 2025-01-23 01:22:39
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