At the recent NATO summit, President Pedro Sánchez addressed concerns over Spain’s defence spending, outlining the country’s commitment to reach 2% of GDP. His remarks were followed by a shift in US President Donald Trump’s tone. Trump had labelled Spain a “terrible partner” and threatened trade measures, but adopted a more conciliatory stance after hearing Sánchez and other European leaders.
Sánchez used his allotted three minutes to detail Spain’s recent defence investments. Spain crossed the 2% threshold in 2025 for the first time since 1994, reaching approximately 2.1% of GDP, and has said it considers that level sufficient to meet its commitments. A Spanish Defence Ministry document cited by HuffPost Italia put basic defence expenditure at €22.6 billion in 2024 and €35.4 billion in 2026. Those figures use a narrower accounting category than NATO’s broader definition of defence spending, which can include expenditure beyond the Defence Ministry’s budget.
The new element in Sánchez’s summit message was Spain’s participation in NATO’s Arctic-related activity in Finland. The contribution has been described as personnel supporting and coordinating planned operations, rather than a separate Spanish combat deployment. The multinational mission is reportedly Swedish-led and follows Finland’s accession to NATO in 2023. Spain’s participation so forms part of an Allied structure for northern security, not a standalone bilateral commitment to Finland.
Trump opened the summit with harsh criticism of European allies and their perceived lack of commitment, but his closing remarks were markedly different. After listening to Sánchez and other leaders, he described the atmosphere as filled with “a lot of love” and expressed satisfaction with the progress made. At his post-summit press conference, Sánchez said Spain’s defence spending had grown five times as fast as GDP. He put the defence budget at €35.5 billion and said 44% was allocated to new equipment, above NATO’s cited 20% average. He also highlighted Spain’s military presence in Turkey, which several member states have acknowledged.
Spain’s higher spending is being channelled into procurement and industrial policy. EFE reported that the Defence Ministry planned 15 new programmes worth €1.4 billion in 2026. A Spanish lieutenant general described reaching 2% of GDP as an effort of historic scale and linked the investment to a major chance for domestic reindustrialisation. Separately, reporting by El Independiente put the wider programme pipeline linked to NATO commitments at approximately €32 billion and said the Ministry of Industry and Tourism had approved more than €14.2 billion in multi-year, zero-interest loans for Spanish defence manufacturers.
The dispute at the summit also reflects a change in NATO’s spending structure. The 2% benchmark followed the Alliance’s 2014 Wales Summit, where members agreed to move towards that level within a decade. NATO officials have since pointed to a separate 3.5% basic-defence trajectory, warning that remaining close to 2% would not put allies on the expected path. Spain, by contrast, maintains that approximately 2.1% fulfils its negotiated commitments. Reaching the older benchmark has so not ended the broader argument over how much allies should spend in the years ahead.
Spanish officials have stressed that the summit brought no new spending pledge beyond the previously announced 2.1% position. They have also argued that trade agreements are negotiated at EU level, rather than unilaterally by Spain. The government maintains that spending will not exceed 2.1% while Sánchez remains in office and rejects calls to raise it to 5%.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz echoed the account that Trump’s change in attitude followed Sánchez’s explanation of Spain’s efforts to meet NATO targets. Merz said the Spanish government’s approach was well received by the US president during the plenary session. Apart from the Finland mission, Sánchez’s message remained consistent with his previous public statements.
Spain’s expanding role within NATO reflects the Alliance’s response to changing security demands and the continuing debate over how military responsibilities should be shared. Its higher spending and procurement plans have become part of that debate, as have its contributions to multinational operations. Spain’s involvement in international security has also been highlighted in other areas, including its naval deployments during basic US commemorations, as reported in coverage of Spanish warships joining US Independence celebrations.
