NATO general secretary Mark Rutte says that “Spain wants to reach 2% [del PIB en gasto militar] This summer. ”He affirmed it in Warsaw this Wednesday, the same day that the president to inform about the increase in while Sanchez avoided putting the target of 2% and only reiterated that his commitment to reach it before 2029, Routte was much more precise in a colloquium organized by the School of Economy of Warsaw and the Polish Institute of International Affairs.
“There are a few countries [de la ] that are not yet in 2%. I would love to say that since I arrived on October 1 [a la Secretaría General de la Alianza] Things have begun to change, but it is not true, “he said. However,” something happened on January 20 in the United States [en alusión a la toma de posesión de Donald Trump] And, since then, look what happened, “he continued.” The Belgians say they want to reach 2% this summer. Spain now says that it wants to reach 2% this summer. We know that Portugal and Italy are now having these debates. And I tell them: ‘I am calling you to turn 2% this summer and that we can collectively move beyond, considerably above. Because we have to spend a lot, much more than 2%. I am calling you, “he continued with an ironic tone,” but he can call you a very patient man from Washington if you don’t listen to me. ” [en alusión al presidente estadounidense]. I would like to listen to that conversation, but I hope it is not necessary and I hope that all those of the no 2% They are having debates to reach 2% before summer. ”
Sources of presidency of the Government have clarified to El País that what Sanchez told Rutte, whom he received in Moncloa on January 27, is that Spain “will try to approach the maximum of 2% in summer”, but that this will depend on the percentage of GDP in military spending with which the exercise of 2024 is finally closed. What did not say in any case, according to the same sources, is that Spain would fulfill on that date. Technically, it is almost unfeasible for Spain to reach 2% this summer, since, in accordance with GDP at current prices with which 2024 closed, that would mean 31,832 million defense. According to the latest calculations, according to the new metric used to quantify military spending, it would be at about 21,000 million euros and there is no capacity to execute such a bulky increase.
It is no accident that Rutte made his statements in Poland, the NATO country that more percentage of its GDP dedicates 4.7%, above the United States. “Poland’s investment in defense in an example for all allies, not only because it is at the head of the classification, but because it plans to spend even more,” he said. The Secretary General reduced to the fact that the countries of the Atlantic Alliance residents of Russia are much more exposed to the threat of Putin than those of the south. “With the most advanced Russian missile technology, the difference between an attack on Warsaw and an attack on Madrid is only 10 minutes. We are all on the flank,” he said.
Faced with those who doubt that Donald Trump maintains the commitment of his predecessors with the defense of Europe, Routte defended the firmness of the transatlantic bond, although he warned that European countries must assume their responsibility with a fair distribution of charges, and discarded the idea of achieving European autonomy in defense. “Let me be clear: this is not the time to go alone, neither for Europe nor for North America. Global challenges are too great for anyone to face them alone.” Without the support of his allies, he added, “the defense of Europe is unthinkable”, since “nothing can replace the nuclear umbrella provided by the United States.”
Although he pointed to Putin as the main threat to Europe, since he has not renounced his ambition to redesign the global security architecture, he stressed that the Russian president is not alone, but has the help of China, Iran and North Korea. Routte insisted that “there is no alternative” to NATO and, raising the war tone of his speech, warned that if Putin invaded a square meter of allied territory, the reaction “would be devastating.” “Together in NATO, Europe and North America, they are and will continue to be unbeatable,” he concluded.
