NATO Approves 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035

Although the move stills needs to be rubberstamped by all NATO national leaders, U.S. President Donald Trump among them, diplomats said all 32 allies have given approval so far to the prepared text.

Spain Opts Out of 5% Target
Spain, for its part, will not take on the new 5% spending target. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez clarified the position in a letter to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte last week. In a speech, Sanchez said it was “disproportionate and unnecessary” for Spain to spend 5% of its GDP on defense.

"We respect what other nations decide," he said, "but ours is not going to reach that level of military spending.

Apparently, rather than opposing the decision, Spain made a gentleman’s agreement with the alliance to sit alongside the new commitment. Sanchez said Spain would continue to meet all of its obligations to NATO, including in commitments to personnel and equipment, by committing 2.1 percent of the country's GDP.

Measure Pushed by Trump, Supported by Some Members
The effort to increase defense spending started with President Trump. Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands proposed splitting the 5 percent between 3.5 percent for direct military spending and 1.5 percent on other defense needs like cybersecurity and military transport.

Nations including Poland and the Baltic states have already announced they will sign up and hope to have hit the 5% level in a few years. According to NATO’s latest estimate, Spain spent the least on defense in the alliance last year, about 1.28% of its GDP. But in April, Sanchez agreed to accelerate the pace of the work to meet the current 2% target for this year.