The defense spending of Spain has once again become a focal point of political and diplomatic tension, both within NATO and in the relationship with United States. The Government of Pedro Sánchez defends that the country has already met the objective of 2% of GDP in security and defense, a goal that for years was demanded by the Atlantic Alliance and that Spain took longer than other partners to achieve.
The discussion, however, is no longer limited to that 2%. The new debate revolves around the objective of 5% of GDP proposed for 2035, a figure that the Administration of Donald Trump demands from European allies with the argument that the United States has borne an excessive burden in collective defense for decades. Spain resists accepting that percentage as a uniform obligation and argues that its contribution should also be measured by military capabilities, deployments, operational support, and strategic priorities, not just by a budget figure.
How much Spain spends on defense in 2026
According to the calculations presented by La Moncloa, Spain allocates in 2026 35.419 million euros to security and defense. The Executive emphasizes that this amount triples in nominal terms the 11.172 million euros recorded in 2018 and places the country as the seventh NATO ally by absolute volume of investment.
The Government maintains that Spain has consolidated between 2025 and 2026 an investment equivalent to 2% of GDP, compared to 0.9% in 2018. For Sánchez, this increase demonstrates an extraordinary effort in a relatively short period, especially in a context where the Executive also wants to preserve social spending, budget stability, and investments in other strategic areas.
NATO's methodology
One of the key points of the debate is that national figures do not always coincide with NATO's estimates. The Alliance uses a common methodology to decide which items can be counted as defense spending, while each country can present its own budgets with a broader or more adjusted classification according to its administrative structure.
For that reason, the discussion is not only about how much money Spain dedicates to its Armed Forces, but also what expenses can be included within the concept of security and defense. The Government wants a broader view to be taken into account, incorporating investments in cybersecurity, critical infrastructures, resilience, technology industry, support for Ukraine, and capabilities that indirectly contribute to collective security.
The Spanish operational contribution
La Moncloa also insists that the Spanish contribution cannot be measured solely by the percentage of GDP. Spain maintains nearly 3,000 military personnel in missions linked to NATO and participates in international deployments that are part of the Alliance's deterrence and collective defense strategy.
Furthermore, the Government highlights Spain's incorporation into the Advanced Land Forces deployed in Finland, a presence especially relevant after NATO's expansion to northern Europe and the reinforcement of the eastern flank against Russia. For the Executive, these commitments show that Spain is not on the sidelines of allied security, although it rejects unconditionally assuming the new threshold of 5%.
What the 5% target means
The target of 5% of GDP approved by the allies for 2035 is divided into two main blocks. The first, equivalent to 3.5%, would be allocated to basic military needs, such as personnel, armament, ammunition, defense capabilities, equipment modernization, command systems, intelligence, surveillance, and operational readiness.
The second block, of up to 1.5%, could be directed towards investments related to security in a broad sense, such as critical infrastructures, cybersecurity, energy resilience, communication protection, military mobility, or reinforcement of strategic sectors. This division seeks to respond to a new reality: defense is no longer limited to tanks, planes, or ships, but includes electrical grids, submarine cables, satellites, digital systems, industrial capacity, and protection against hybrid attacks.
Why Spain rejects automatically reaching 5%
Pedro Sánchez argues that Spain can meet the military objectives assigned by NATO without automatically raising spending to 5% of GDP. The Government's position is that applying the same percentage to all allies does not take into account the differences in economic size, budget structure, geographical position, strategic needs, and existing capabilities in each country.
La Moncloa estimates that reaching that threshold would require mobilizing up to 780 billion euros over a decade, an amount that the Executive considers incompatible with a balanced budget policy if applied rigidly. The Spanish priority, according to the Government, must be to invest better, strengthen specific capabilities, boost the European defense industry, and prevent military increases from eroding social spending or compromising fiscal sustainability.
Sánchez defends spending better, not just spending more
The Government's message is that the debate cannot be reduced to a race of percentages. Sánchez argues that NATO must first identify what capabilities each ally needs and then adjust investments to those needs, rather than demanding an identical figure for all countries.
This position attempts to combine three objectives: maintaining Spain's credibility within the Alliance, responding to new security threats, and preventing the increase in military spending from becoming a permanent pressure on the welfare state. For the Executive, the effort must focus on useful capabilities, national and European industry, technology, interoperability, and real preparedness of the Armed Forces.
What Trump demands from Spain
Donald Trump has made the distribution of military spending one of his main demands on European partners. His Administration argues that the United States has borne a disproportionate share of the cost of Western defense for decades and that Europe must take on greater budgetary, industrial, and military responsibility.
In this context, Spain has become one of the countries pointed out for rejecting the 5% target. Trump pressures for all allies to move towards that figure and has directed specific criticisms at Madrid for resisting a commitment that Washington considers necessary to balance the burden within the Alliance.
The response from Madrid
Spain responds that its contribution cannot be evaluated solely with an accounting rule. The Government mentions participation in international missions, support for Ukraine, troop deployment, presence on NATO's sensitive flanks, and compliance with the capability objectives set by the Alliance.
The Spanish position does not deny the need to increase investment in security, but rejects that 5% is the only valid indicator of commitment. Madrid wants a more flexible interpretation, based on real capabilities and concrete contributions, against U.S. pressure to turn the percentage into a political measuring stick.
Can Spain be left out of NATO
The disagreement over spending does not imply that Spain is going to leave NATO nor that there is an automatic mechanism to expel it for not reaching 5%. Spain continues to be part of military planning, political decisions, and the Alliance's missions, and maintains its commitment to collective defense as outlined in the Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.
The tension lies on another level: the pace, volume, and manner of the budget increase. Spain agrees to strengthen defense, but wants to do so without assuming as an automatic obligation a figure it considers excessive and poorly suited to its situation. The debate will remain open until 2035, the date set by NATO to reach the new goal.
A dispute over money, power, and priorities
The clash between Spain, NATO, and the Trump Administration is not just a budgetary discussion. It is also a dispute over Europe's role in its own defense, over strategic dependence on the United States, and over the balance between military security, social spending, and fiscal stability.
Spain argues that it has already made a historic effort by moving from 0.9% to 2% of GDP and that its contribution should be valued based on what it really brings to allied security. Trump, on the other hand, demands a much greater leap and wants European partners to take on a burden that Washington considers overdue for years.
The question that remains open is not whether Spain will spend more on defense, but how much, at what pace, and under what criteria. That will be one of the major political debates of the next decade within NATO.