U.S. president Donald Trump suggested on Thursday, October 9th, that Spain be expelled from NATO over its failure to meet the higher defense spending target agreed under his leadership.
“We had one laggard, it was Spain,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office:
They have no excuse not to do this, but that’s all right. Maybe you should throw them out of NATO, frankly.
In June, the 32-nation North Atlantic Treaty Organization agreed to significantly boost defense spending over the next decade after pressure from Trump. Under the final agreement, NATO members committed to spending 3.5% of GDP on core defense capabilities by 2035, with an additional 1.5% directed toward broader areas of security, including infrastructure and cyber defense. Trump also reaffirmed what he called his “ironclad commitment” to NATO’s Article Five—the principle that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all.
The 5% GDP target replaced the previous 2% goal set back in 2014.
Spain’s Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has rejected the idea of reaching the new figure, insisting that Madrid will not aim for the full amount—despite consistently ranking among the lowest defense spenders in NATO.