MADRID (AP) 鈥� Spain has rejected a NATO proposal to spend 5% of GDP on defense needs that鈥檚 due to be announced next week, calling it 鈥渦nreasonable.鈥�
In a letter sent Thursday to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S谩nchez said that Spain 鈥渃annot commit to a specific spending target in terms of GDP鈥� at next week鈥檚 NATO summit in The Hague.
Most U.S. allies at NATO are on track to endorse U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 that they invest 5% of gross domestic product on their defense and military needs. In early June, said that they aim to meet the new target.
A NATO official on Thursday said discussions between allies on a new defense spending plan were ongoing.
鈥淔or Spain, committing to a 5% target would not only be unreasonable, but also counterproductive, as it would move Spain away from optimal spending and it would hinder the EU鈥檚 ongoing efforts to strengthen its security and defense ecosystem,鈥� S谩nchez wrote in the letter seen by The Associated Press.
Spain was the lowest spender in the 32-nation military alliance last year, directing less than 2% of its GDP on defense expenditure.
In April, S谩nchez said the government would raise defense spending by 10.5 billion euros ($12 billion) in 2025 to reach NATO鈥檚 previous target of 2% of GDP.
S谩nchez asked for 鈥渁 more flexible formula鈥� in relation to a new spending target 鈥� that either made it optional or left Spain out from its application.
NATO allies agreed to spend 2% of GDP on military expenditure after Russia launched its of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. But the alliance's plans for defending Europe and North America against a Russian attack require investments of at least 3%.
The aim now is to raise the bar to 3.5% for core defense spending on tanks, warplanes, air defense, missiles and hiring extra troops. A further 1.5% would be spent on things like roads, bridges, ports and airfields so armies can deploy more quickly, as well as preparing societies for possible attack.
Rutte had been due to table a new proposal on Friday aimed at satisfying Spain. European allies and Canada are keen to finalize the spending pledge before the summit, and not leave it open for any heated debate that might drag the meeting out.
Poland and the Baltic countries 鈥� Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania 鈥� have already publicly committed to 5%, and Rutte that most allies were ready to endorse the goal.
A big question still to be answered is what time-frame countries will get to reach the new spending goals.
A target date of 2032 was initially floated, but Rutte has said that Russia could be ready to launch an attack on NATO territory by 2030.
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Associated Press writer Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.
