Pedro Sánchez torpedoes Nato unity on eve of crucial summit

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Spain’s opt-out from a Nato pledge for members to spend 5 per cent of GDP on defence has blown up efforts to show unity ahead of a leaders’ summit that was aimed at placating US President Donald Trump.

Poland on Monday warned that Spain’s special treatment was “unjustified” and “detrimental to the unity of the alliance”, while Belgium said it planned to request equal treatment — increasing the likelihood for the gathering starting on Tuesday in The Hague to descend into acrimony.

Trump had asked all Nato members to spend 5 per cent of GDP on defence or else risk losing US security guarantees.

Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte spent months securing unanimous support for that pledge, even as he split the overall target into 3.5 per cent of GDP for core military expenditure and 1.5 per cent for adjacent investment in infrastructure and cyber security by 2035.

But Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Sunday announced he had secured a deal with Nato that allowed Madrid to opt out from the 5 per cent spending target, which Sánchez said “safeguards Spain’s sovereignty while ensuring the success of the Nato summit”.

Sánchez’s opt-out rests on a change to the Nato statement from “we” to “allies” in the sentence referring to the pledge to spend 5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2035, two officials involved in the negotiations said.

Sánchez has committed to spending only 2.1 per cent of Spain’s GDP on defence, which makes Spain Nato’s main European spending laggard, even as countries such as Italy, Belgium and Portugal are also likely to struggle to meet the 5 per cent target.

Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte wrote to Sánchez on Sunday granting Madrid “flexibility” on spending as long as it meets so-called capability targets which the alliance has estimated will cost 5 per cent of GDP over the next decade. Nato has included core military expenditure, such as weapons and soldiers’ wages as well as the investments in infrastructure and cyber.

On Monday, Rutte defended that arrangement, telling reporters: “We are in an alliance where we fight together and, if necessary, where we also suffer and die together for our collective defence . . . Spain has also agreed with the [capability] targets.”

Polish defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, who is also deputy prime minister, told the Financial Times that “any derogation for Spain is unjustified”.

“All states should jointly bear the burden on the alliance,” the Polish minister said, adding: “Making any exceptions is detrimental to the unity of the alliance and I am in favour of reaching 5 per cent as soon as possible.”

Poland is proportionally the biggest defence spender in Nato, with the equivalent of 4.7 per cent of GDP allocated to military expenditure this year.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday claimed that Nato countries were pushing a “brazen lie” that Moscow was planning to attack the alliance in a bid to trigger “global militarisation and an arms race” by “coming up with this scare story themselves and repeating it year after year”, according to Interfax.

Officials from other Nato countries also said Sánchez’s exemption threatened to derail the summit given that other countries could request similar treatment.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever will raise the issue at the summit, said a person familiar with the matter.

“It is still quite unclear what this exemption means, but there is clarity needed because [the] same rules apply to all,” the person added.

A spokesperson for De Wever said: “The position of Belgium is that the Nato countries have agreed on a text that applies equally to everyone.”

“This historic moment in the alliance is going to require all 32 allies committed to doing more,” US ambassador to Nato Matthew Whitaker told reporters about the pledge, without reference to Spain. “I would expect allies to be even more vigilant in holding each other accountable.”

One member of Spain’s conservative opposition suggested Sánchez was
looking for a “[Volodymyr] Zelenskyy moment”, in reference to the Ukrainian president’s public clash with Trump in the Oval Office earlier this year.

The Spanish premier is seeking conflict to boost his domestic political standing as he faces a swirl of corruption allegations against his inner circle and family, the opposition member added.

Additional reporting by Max Seddon in Berlin