Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has responded to US President Donald Trump’s repeated criticisms of Europe’s defence spending.
Trump, who has called for NATO members to meet or exceed the 2 per cent GDP threshold for defence, recently proposed raising the target to 5 per cent, a move that has unsettled allies.
In an interview with CNBC on January 22, Sánchez reaffirmed Spain’s commitment to the 2 per cent goal by 2029, while highlighting what he said was the country’s significant strides in defence investment.
“Over the past decade, Spain has increased its total defence expenditure by 70 per cent,” he stated.
He noted that Spain was now the tenth-largest contributor to NATO, with substantial involvement in missions where its navy operated “well above NATO’s average”, according to the PM.
Sánchez’s comments came as Trump continued to pressure European allies, accusing them of failing to contribute sufficiently to the Western military alliance.
NATO estimates for 2024 showed that, while 23 members met the 2 per cent GDP target, Spain lagged behind at just 1.28 per cent.
Beyond defence, transatlantic trade tensions loom large. Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on European goods, accusing the European Union of being “very, very bad” for the US economically.
The Spanish industrial and manufacturing sectors would be among the most affected, as Trump threatened to raise tariffs by up to 100 per cent.
Sánchez said: “We share a strong transatlantic bond. Our economies are deeply interlinked and a trade war is not in the interest of either the US or the European Union.”
He urged both sides to focus on strengthening their relationship, describing a possible trade war as a “zero-sum game”.
European officials, including Valdis Dombrovskis, EU Commissioner for the Economy, echoed Sánchez’s concerns.
Dombrovskis warned that tariffs could damage global growth and said the EU would respond proportionally to any US trade measures.
Greenpeace activists have evaded the World Economic Forum’s tight security checks, staging a brief climate change protest outside the main hall of the annual meeting in Davos. https://t.co/UfGdacSv2v
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