How Spain’s Sánchez became NATO’s flakiest friend
Many EU diplomats agree with Trump that low military spending and weak support for Ukraine make Spain a bad ally.
By TIM ROSS and
AITOR HERRNÁNDEZ-MORALES
Illustration by Natália Delgado/POLITICO
BRUSSELS — Frontline states enduring Russia’s hybrid assault on Europe think Donald Trump is right: Spain and other supposed allies far away to the south are failing to back them up.
They regard it as deeply unfair that Spain — especially with its strong economic growth — has not contributed more to Europe’s efforts to support Ukraine and reinforce its own defenses.
When leaders meet in Brussels for a summit to discuss deeper defense cooperation next week, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will be expected to fall in line. If he doesn’t, he’ll face a showdown with his counterparts, said one diplomat involved in preparations for the summit, speaking on condition of anonymity because the topic is sensitive.
Another agreed that southern European countries such as Italy and Portugal need to do their bit for the north of Europe, especially if they want help tackling migration from Africa and the Middle East.
“We are now hoping that the NATO commitment — 5 percent — is really speeding up fast because we are running against time,” said Finland’s defense minister, Antti Häkkänen, whose country shares a 1,300-kilometer border with Russia. “That’s what we are emphasizing as a frontline country — that other countries must do their fair share, and fast.”
That NATO commitment is where things get tricky.
At a summit in June, NATO leaders agreed to increase their spending on defense and security to 5 percent of GDP per year over the next decade, up from 2 percent.
Some officials from Northern Europe believe this new target with its deadline of 2035 is too little and too slow, amid Vladimir Putin’s ongoing war in Ukraine and increasing violations of European air space by Russian drones and jets. They also reckon Europe must step up its own defense spending because the U.S. won’t be around to help forever.
But Sánchez refused to sign up to the new target at all. That earned him the wrath of the U.S. president, who this week threatened to impose new tariffs to punish the errant NATO member.
‘Unbelievably disrespectful’
Spain’s NATO spending prior to this year stood at just 1.28 percent of GDP, the lowest of any NATO member country. Sánchez argued that Spain didn’t need to spend much to meet its obligations.
“I think it’s unbelievably disrespectful,” Trump said Tuesday. “And I think they should be punished for that. Yes, I do.”
Trump’s complaint found a sympathetic audience in Sweden, NATO’s newest member. “I think there is the awareness in Spain and the other allies that now it’s really the time to deliver on defense investment,” said the country’s defense minister, Pål Jonson. “It’s very, very important that all our allies abide by the commitments that we all agreed … including Spain.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte tried to downplay the spat at a meeting of the alliance’s defense ministers in Brussels on Wednesday. “It is always up to individual allies to make sure that they contribute to the overall effort what they can contribute,” he said.
“No one can doubt Spain’s commitment to NATO,” Spain’s defense minister, Margarita Robles, said at the same gathering. “We have been a reliable partner for 40 years.”
But questions of how countries should share the burden for European security and resilience will remain high on the agenda of EU leaders in the coming days.
On Thursday, the European Commission will publish its final plan for getting the EU ready to fight, its defense readiness “roadmap.” Officials will launch the plan at a press conference with the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas.
Then, next week, European leaders will discuss details of how to finance Ukraine’s war against Russia’s military at a summit in Brussels on Oct. 23.
On the face of it, some EU officials say, Spain ought to be in a good position to help. The country is enjoying an unusually strong economic performance, growing 3.2 percent in 2024, and is forecast to grow by 2.6 percent this year, according to European Commission data,
Between January 2022 and August 2025, Spain has allocated only €790 million to military aid to Ukraine and has donated tanks and air defense systems, according to tracking by the Kiel Institute.
By comparison, Germany has provided €17.7 billion worth of military aid to Kyiv and the U.K. €13.3 billion. Overall, Mediterranean countries are laggards when it comes to sending weaponry to Ukraine compared to Northern and Baltic nations — Italy’s military aid is worth €1.7 billion and Greece’s €150 million.
When it comes to Trump’s threats to apply punitive tariffs to Spain, EU officials were nonplussed. Legally it’s not possible for the U.S. to single out one EU member country for specific tariffs because the bloc handles trade matters collectively. But what Trump could do is target Spanish exports such as pork or sherry.
“Trade falls under the exclusive competence of the European Commission acting on behalf of all EU member states,” said Commission spokesperson Olof Gill. “We will respond appropriately, as we always do, to any measures taken against one or more of our member states, and I also remind you that we now have an EU-U.S. trade deal in place. This is a platform for addressing any further trade or trade related questions.”
Not worried
At home, however, Sánchez may not be too worried. The ongoing tussle with Trump may make relations between Madrid and Washington awkward, but the tensions are a net positive for the prime minister domestically.
According to the latest surveys, Sánchez is an unpopular figure whom 67 percent of the population consider “untrustworthy.” But polls show a majority of Spaniards back him when it comes to his refusal to dramatically ramp up Spain’s military spending.
Pablo Simón, a political scientist at Madrid’s Carlos III University, said Spain has traditionally been reluctant to get excessively involved in international security policy and remained neutral in global conflicts. The country’s decision to join NATO in 1982 was extremely controversial, and millions participated in protests against the Spanish government when it endorsed the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.
“Sánchez’s position is popular because it reflects [the] prudent approach [of Spaniards] to the defense issue, and Donald Trump is an unpopular figure in Spain,” Simón said. “From a strictly domestic political perspective, as long as Spaniards feel that they are meeting their obligations as a country, it’s a winning strategy.”
Even if Sánchez wanted to bow to Trump’s demands, he lacks the political support to commit the country to a significant increase in its defense spending, according to Simón.
Sumar, the far-left junior partners in the coalition government, are opposed to any moves that could undermine funding for social programs. The center-right opposition, meanwhile, would be unlikely to back the new budget that would be needed for a major spending boost to the military.
Esther Webber, Seb Starcevic, Laura Kayali and Victor Jack contributed reporting.
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