Spain to increase military spending by more than 80% after Trump blasts NATO members’ contributions
SPAIN has agreed to boost its military spending by more than 80% by 2024.
It comes after US president Donald Trump blasted NATO members for not contributing enough to the military alliance.
End-of-year forecasts suggest that only five of the 28 Member states – the US, the UK, Estonia, Poland and Greece – have met the 2% of GDP target agreed in 2014.
Spain will have spent 0.92% of its 2017 budget on defense, making it one of the lowest spending in the alliance, alongside Belgium and Luxembourg.
NATO has demanded answers from the 23 Member states that haven’t made the mark, inspiring the Spanish government to commit €18 billion over the coming years to its military spending.
That takes the percentage of the GDP devoted to defense to between 1.5 and 1.6%, still short of NATO’s required 2%.
Spain has said the earliest it could meet the 2% target is 2028.
Latest from Lead
Shameful behaviour of councillor pictured buying online wine during debate on Valencia flood disaster relief
A VALENCIA councillor has apologised after a camera caught him doing online shopping during a council debate on flood relief funding. Partido Popular(PP) representative Jose
Exclusive: The inside story of ‘criminal activity’ at gaming company Mansion during the wild-west era of online gambling in Gibraltar
ONCE upon a time, Mansion was a well-known gaming company which had its name emblazoned across the chests of Premier League football players. It rode
Visiting Spain in 2025? Be aware of these nine big changes
AS Spain anticipates another bustling year for tourism in 2025, several significant changes are set to impact visitors, particularly those from the UK. Last year
Spain-Morocco tunnel latest: Completion hopes dashed for 2030 World Cup amid reports of ‘decade-long’ delay
PLANS for a rail tunnel linking Spain and Morocco have hit the buffers due to ‘complex conditions’ and it may not be ready until 2040.
‘I’m so scared’: Trans woman suffers horrific attack on the streets of Madrid
POLICE are looking for two men who brutally assaulted a trans woman in the Madrid area last Sunday. The attack took place at around 3.45am