Pedro Sánchez pays close attention to his international profile. His command of English allows him to interact fluently with most leaders. It is common to see him engaging in informal conversations with other colleagues at every summit, whether it's a European Council, a G20... That's the usual, the normal. The exceptional part is what happened at the beginning of the NATO summit in The Hague, where the Prime Minister attends at odds with Donald Trump and other allies due to his rejection to reach 5% of GDP in Defense. The head of the Government has not engaged in dialogue with other colleagues, he has been lagging behind, and while everyone was talking and greeting before the plenary session started, there were only three occupied seats: Belgium, Turkey, and Spain.
In other moments, in other contexts, it would have been common to see Sánchez in groups like those led by Emmanuel Macron, Keir Starmer, or Mette Frederiksen. Sánchez has only exchanged a few words with Erdogan, with an interpreter, as they were the only ones seated and close by.
Not even in the most relaxed moments has Sánchez engaged in conversations. He keeps his distance, as if he wanted to make it clear with his attitude what sets him apart from what is being discussed here: that the allies significantly increase their investment in Defense and Security. Spain is not aligned with that, as Sánchez maintains his position to stay at 2.1% of spending, compared to the 5% - 3.5% in military spending - 1.5% in security-related spending because he believes that this expenditure covers the commitments made with the Alliance.
Neither in the family photo on Tuesday with the Kings of The Netherlands nor in the one on Wednesday with the allies did Sánchez come across Donald Trump. Even though they were in the same row on Wednesday's photo, Trump was conversing with other colleagues while Sánchez stayed behind, avoiding overtaking the US leader.
The "interpretation" of a "genius"
In the interventions prior to the meeting, Sánchez's position has been widely criticized and questioned. The Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriákos Mitsotákis, has been very clear, stating that "some countries take advantage of the commitments of the rest of the partners," while emphasizing that the 5% target for Defense spending is indisputable.
Lithuanian Gitanas Nauseda has defended a very similar position, while the Prime Minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr, has emphasized that NATO will approve and move forward with the 3.5+1.5 format. "Now we say that 3.5% [hard spending] is necessary to reach our capabilities, and we will do it together."
The intervention of the Prime Minister of Belgium, Bart De Wever, has been very significant. Although in a much more restrained tone than Sánchez, the Belgian leader also had reservations about reaching 5%, and it had been suggested that he could be an ally of Spain. However, his position was not exactly that.
"I would like to emphasize that there are no exceptions. Everyone accepts the same text, and it's a matter of interpretation. They have to reach 5% and the capabilities. Spain's interpretation is that they can achieve the capabilities without reaching 3.5% of GDP, but this needs to be seen," he pointed out, then ironically stating that if Sánchez can fulfill his obligations in terms of capabilities by investing only 2.1%, he is a "genius." "Genius inspires people," he emphasized.