Mark Rutte has "praised" Spain and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for raising Defense spending by "billions". "At the beginning of last year, Spanish defense spending was around 1.3%-1.4%. And in April, I received a call from Pedro Sánchez, the Prime Minister, saying: we are going to reach 2%, and he did it," stated the NATO Secretary-General during the press conference where he presented the Alliance's annual report.
The report confirms that indeed, Spain reached 2% of GDP in military spending by the end of 2025, although it still remains among the countries with the lowest military expenditure. In fact, it holds the position of the lowest-spending ally along with Belgium, Canada, Albania, and Portugal.
Rutte, however, tried to emphasize the significant increase in investment: in absolute terms, Spanish spending jumped from 22.6 to 33.5 billion. These are the "additional billions invested structurally in defense by Spain" that the Secretary-General mentioned.
At the same time, the former Prime Minister of the Netherlands also pointed out that this figure will not be sufficient. Spain, like the rest of the allies, will need to reach 5% of investment distributed between capabilities spending (3.5%) and defense-related aspects (1.5%). "We believe that Spain needs to spend 3.5% to achieve the capability goals; Spain believes it can do it with 2%," Rutte stated.
Rutte's remarks came after once again, U.S. President Donald Trump criticized the other NATO countries for not assisting in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz. Once again, the Alliance's Secretary-General avoided any hint of criticism and focused on praising the magnate. He made it clear that Trump made it possible for all countries, including Spain, to increase military spending.
"I don't think that without the current U.S. administration, the entire NATO would have reached 2% by the end of 2025. Look at some major economies like Spain, Italy, Belgium, or Canada. They were far from that 2% threshold, and all of them have reached 2%," Rutte initially pointed out.
Furthermore, "As Secretary-General, of course, the Alliance is very important to me. Otherwise, I wouldn't hold this position. But, as I mentioned before, the United States under this President is doing things that are quite crucial for the Alliance. And I have to reiterate this: reopening dialogue with Russia, breaking the deadlock, initiating the peace process, and ensuring that the Alliance reached 2%. I'm not sure, again, that we would have reached that level by the end of last year without President Trump," he emphasized.