FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has not hesitated to respond to criticism from US President Donald Trump for the fact that his country did not accept the increase in defense spending within NATO to 5% by 2035.
"Spain will achieve the new targets agreed by NATO member states at the Hague summit, but considers its current defense spending, which amounts to 2% of the country's GDP, "sufficient, realistic and compatible with the welfare state," he said.
Sanchez last week requested an exemption for Spain from NATO's 5% defense spending requirement, a request that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte publicly rejected.
"Thank you for respecting Spain's sovereignty"
"At today's summit, NATO wins and Spain wins something very important for our society, which is security and the welfare state," the Spanish prime minister said, insisting that Madrid would respect its commitments to the Alliance, while thanking allies for showing "respect for Spain's sovereignty."
"I hope that at the European Council, which will be held in Brussels on Thursday, we will talk less about GDP percentages and more about joint production, common markets and interoperability," he added.
NATO member countries reiterated their "unwavering commitment" to mutual assistance and pledged to invest 5% of their Gross Domestic Product in security over a decade by 2035, in a joint statement issued at the summit.
Specifically, NATO allies will devote “at least 3.5% of GDP” to military spending in the “stricto sensu” sense and an additional 1.5% to investments in the security sector in the broader sense, such as the protection of critical infrastructure and networks.
The goal will be difficult to achieve, many European leaders have warned, such as Spain, which considers the increase in defense spending "irrational."
Regarding his political future, Sanchez said today that he intends to run for re-election at the end of this term in 2027.
Sanchez, a Socialist, leads a left-wing minority coalition government facing a series of corruption investigations, which have prompted the opposition to demand his resignation.
Lini një Përgjigje