NATO: Belgium and Spain in the maneuver to escape the objective of 5% of GDP in security expenditure – 23/06/2025 at 12:07

“There is no exemption”. Consequently, “no ally” can escape his commitments, insisted an alliance diplomat, despite the declarations of Madrid and Brussels. However,

NATO secretary general, Mark Rutte, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, in Madrid, Spain, January 27, 2025. Meanwhile, (AFP / Javier Soriano)

In a context of strong rise in international tensions. Consequently, the 32 leaders of NATO countries meet on Tuesday and Wednesday in the Netherlands. Nevertheless, The summit will notably be marked by negotiations around the security expenditure objective. Nevertheless, while Belgium and Spain sowed disorder by maneuvering to escape it. Similarly,

Monday. nato: belgium spain maneuver escape Meanwhile, June 23, the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, a supporting NATO letter, again hammered that his country did not have to increase its defense expenses up to 5% of GDP, despite the denials of diplomats from the Atlantic Alliance. Moreover,

Pedro Sánchez published on X a letter signed by the Secretary General of the Atlantic Alliance Mark Rutte. For example, dated Sunday. The NATO secretary general notes that Spain “is convinced that it can achieve new objectives of agreed capacity with. a trajectory of expenditure less than 5%”.

“The agreement at the next NATO summit will grant Spain the flexibility to determine its own sovereign route To achieve this capacity objective. “adds Mark Rutte in this letter.” The trajectory. balance of expenses within the framework of this plan will be re -examined in 2029 “, specifies the NATO chief, whose summit takes place nato: belgium spain maneuver escape Tuesday and Wednesday in The Hague.

Pedro Sánchez had already expressed his refusal to bring defense expenses to 5% of GDP by qualifying. this possibility of “unreasonable”. According to the Socialist Head of Government, 2.1% of GDP is enough to “acquire. maintain all the staff, all the equipment, all the infrastructures” necessary to “cope” with “threats” and “challenges”, he assured Sunday evening.

Belgium has also activated behind the scenes to try to obtain “maximum flexibility” on the objective Fixed in the NATO countries. his head of diplomacy Maxime Prévot on Monday.

“There is no exemption”

“We may not have done it via a rowdy statement like Spain. but I can assure you that for weeks our diplomacy has been working to obtain the mechanisms of flexibility (…) which can help lighten the burden of Belgian effort,” he told French-speaking public nato: belgium spain maneuver escape radio RTBF .

“We ask for maximum flexibility, flexibility is essential”, insisted the Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs. Belgium. one of the worst students of the Atlantic Alliance in military spending, must again appear as “a reliable partner”, “but at a rate that remains sustainable for our finances”, said this French -speaking centrist.

For the head of Belgian diplomacy. his country is ready to play collective – “we will not be able to have à la carte goals, the very principle of NATO is solidarity” – but even “in the medium term”, the objectives of 5% of security spending and 3.5% of pure military expenditure is “out of reach”, he estimated. He did not quote a date.

According to diplomats interviewed in Brussels, NATO countries have entered into an agreement to agree with an increase at 3.5% of GDP for nato: belgium spain maneuver escape military spending in the next decade, plus 1.5% for defense expenses in the broad sense.

In Brussels, headquarters of the Alliance, there is no question of exemption. The Spanish government having just obtained that the period to achieve this 5% target was from 2032 to 2035. several diplomats reported to the AFP . “There is no exemption” still hammered a NATO diplomat on Monday morning. “No ally” can escape his commitments, he insisted.