Politico called Spain a "headache" for NATO over defense spending cuts

Spain has become a headache for NATO due to the country's refusal to raise targeted military spending to 5% of gross domestic product (GDP). This was reported by the Politico newspaper on June 25, citing sources.

According to the newspaper, NATO diplomats called Madrid's position "unfair" towards other countries of the alliance against the background of non-compliance with the requirements agreed upon by all representatives.

It is noted that a year earlier, a similar initiative was put forward by Canada, which did not agree to increase spending on the defense industry to 2% of GDP, but now Spain has taken the same position, which has caused dissatisfaction from NATO.

It is estimated that in 2024, Spain spent the least on defense of all NATO member countries - 1.2%.

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On June 22, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced that Madrid would keep military spending at 2.1% of GDP instead of bringing it to 5%. He pointed out that spending more would be "wasteful" and an increase to 5% "would not help achieve our goals."