Media: Spain blocks NATO consensus on defence budget hike

The Spanish government is currently blocking the possibility of reaching a consensus within NATO on approving a percentage increase in military spending.

Madrid does not even agree with the principle of setting a specific percentage of defence investment relative to GDP, Caliber.Az reports via Elmundo America. 

The NATO defence ministers’ meeting on June 5 in Brussels will be the last before the alliance summit in The Hague. It was expected that the commitment to approve a target of 5 per cent of GDP would be finalised at this meeting. While some countries openly acknowledge the difficulties in reaching this figure, Spain is the only nation currently opposing it.

If the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez does not change his stance, he will likely have to confront US President Donald Trump at the summit in The Hague. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s main mission now is to maintain ties between the US and its European allies.

By Naila Huseynova