Italy Proposes Diverging Defense Spending Strategy to Manage NATO Obligations
At The Hague summit, NATO leaders from various countries, including Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, gathered to discuss the alliance's capability goals and future military spending.
The agreement reached at the summit saw NATO countries committing to increase their military spending from the current two percent to a new target of five percent over the next decade. However, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez expressed reservations about this increase, stating that maintaining Spain's Welfare State and other essential public services would be challenging with such a significant shift in budget priorities.
Sánchez's concerns were validated by Spain's historical struggles to meet even the two percent target, with its defense spending being only about 1.3% of GDP in previous years. As a result, an exemption was granted to Spain, allowing it to maintain a lower defense spending target of 2.1% of GDP rather than adhering to the 5% goal proposed for other NATO allies.
The joint statement issued at the end of the summit emphasized the importance of NATO's collective defense and the need for increased military spending. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi pledged Italy's support for this increase, while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reaffirmed Germany's commitment to NATO's collective defense.
The Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, criticized the military spending levels of some NATO countries, calling for a more equitable distribution of defense burdens among the alliance's members.
The summit concluded with a renewed commitment to dialogue and cooperation among NATO members, setting the stage for the next NATO summit, scheduled to take place in 2022. The outcome of this summit is expected to shape NATO's future military spending and strategic direction.
Economic and social policy issues were raised during the NATO summit in The Hague, as Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez expressed reservations about increasing defense spending to 5% of GDP over the next decade, stating it would challenge Spain's Welfare State and other essential public services. The policy-and-legislation discussion on military spending was a key part of the general news covered during the summit, with other leaders such as Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz committing to the increase for some NATO countries.
