U.S. President Donald Trump stated on the 9th that he would consider expelling Spain from NATO after the country refused to significantly increase its military expenditure. This comes as NATO, under pressure from the United States, committed to raising its members' annual defense spending from the current 2% to 5% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
While meeting with visiting Finnish President at the White House, Trump remarked that Spain has "no excuse not to do this" and suggested that it might be appropriate to throw them out of NATO. He also called on European leaders to pressure Spain, urging them to call and ask why they are always lagging.
During the NATO summit in June this year, member states pledged to gradually increase their annual defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. Although Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez signed the summit declaration, he has insisted on maintaining the country's defense spending at the current level of 2.1% of GDP. In response, Trump previously threatened to make Spain "pay the price" for refusing to further increase military expenditure during trade negotiations.
The Trump administration has consistently demanded that other NATO members raise their defense spending to 5% of GDP, arguing that Europe should not "free-ride" on the U.S. for defense matters. This stance has sparked strong dissatisfaction among many allies.
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