Madrid, June 27 (EFE).— Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles Friday dismissed the US-backed push for NATO members to spend 5% of GDP on defense as “absolutely impossible.”
She argued that no defense industry could absorb such an investment, describing Spain’s position as the “most sincere and honest” within the alliance.
“Everyone is absolutely convinced that right now there is no industry capable of absorbing 5 percent. We can say whatever we want, we can dress it up or disguise it, but no industry can take it on,” Robles said during an appearance before the Senate Defense Commission.
Robles explained that even European industry could not absorb 5 percent, or even 3.5 percent, of GDP in military spending at present, citing a lack of qualified personnel and basic raw materials.
For this reason, she reaffirmed Spain’s stance of not endorsing the 5 percent target proposed at the recent NATO summit in The Hague, while reiterating the country’s commitment to reach 2 percent of GDP in defense spending this year.
Robles said it was misleading to apply the same percentage target across countries with vastly different economies.
“It’s not the same, the GDP of the United States and that of Montenegro. So, it’s not correct to talk in terms of percentages,” she said.
“What is correct is to commit this year to 2 percent based on the capabilities assigned to us, and that is what we will deliver.”
Although she said she respects the sovereign decisions of countries that set percentage goals for the next decade, Robles noted that some simply delay the issue. “There are countries that quietly say: ‘In 2035, we’ll see.’”
Her explanations failed to convince senators from the conservative Popular Party, the main opposition force, who accused Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of misleading Spaniards by claiming NATO allows Spain flexibility on the 5% target while still subscribing to it.
Robles countered that “there was no signing ceremony.”
“No one saw the Prime Minister sign anything because that’s not how it works,” she said, defending Sánchez, who “has tried not to deceive anyone.”
She explained that the agreement among countries is reflected in a text, which in this case included an annex: a letter Sánchez sent to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and Rutte’s reply accepting Spain’s plan to reach 2.1% of GDP. EFE
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