Nato summit under threat of being derailed by Spain over defence spending goal

The National

5 days ago

Nato heads of state meeting in The Hague on Wednesday are expected to endorse a five per cent defence spending goal but a Spanish refusal has inspired others to push back in a domino effect that threatens to derail the summit.
It will be a difficult goal to reach for most yet allies are keen to please US President Donald Trump, who has long railed against European and Canadian reliance on US defence and cast doubt on his commitment to the alliance.
Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte said he was unconcerned about Spain's refusal possibly torpedoing the summit, despite Mr Trump previously heaping criticism on Spain.
'I'm not worried about that,' Mr Rutte said as he arrived at the summit. 'Countries have to find the money. It's not easy.'
His comments came after Mr Trump published on social media a graphic titled 'Spain threatens to derail Nato summit,' alongside which he wrote: 'The United States is at almost $1 trillion Dollars – this is incredible! Will be discussing it soon with Members of Nato.' Aboard Air Force One, Mr Trump told reporters that Spain's refusal was 'very unfair'.
Allies are expected to adopt more flexible language in their summit declaration to accommodate Spain. The final communique is set to only be one page long as allies hope to convince Mr Trump, who is known to dislike long negotiations, to soften his tone towards the alliance. 'Each country has its own concerns how to reach those targets but we'll easily be fitting those in,' said Finland's Foreign Minister, Elina Valtonen.
But Spain's request for an exemption has appeared to inspire a knock-on effect, with the Belgian government agreeing on Wednesday to 2.5 per cent of its GDP on defence by 2034 – falling short of Nato's new goals.
As he arrived at the summit, Belgium's Prime Minister Bart de Wever said there was 'no opt out clause' and that achieving the 3.5 per cent of GDP goal was a 'matter of interpretation'.
If Spain can do it by spending less money, then others should follow suit, Mr de Wever argued. 'We'll certainly also try to achieve our capability targets and if possible spend less than 3.5 per cent of our GDP,' he said.
Ahead of the summit, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxim Prevot had said that Belgium was asking for 'maximum flexibility'.
Close to one third of Nato allies have yet to reach a 2 per cent goal set a decade ago. Only three countries – Lithuania, Latvia and Poland – spend more than 3.5 per cent on weaponry. Canada is among those unlikely to hit that figure. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Mark Carney said that his country would reach the 2 per cent spending target by 2030. In stark contrast, Germany said it would reach 3.5 per cent by 2029, six years before the deadline.
Further comments made on Air Force One casting doubt on Mr Trump's interpretation of Article 5 – an attack on one ally is the same as an attack on all – have also heightened anxiety among European state leaders gathered in The Hague, particularly those bordering Russia.
Yet officials were also keen to smooth things over to avoid clashing with Mr Trump. Ms Valtonen, who pointed at the fact that the only time Article 5 was activated was after the September 11, 2001 attacks against the US, said: 'I'm certain President Trump is 100 per cent behind it.'