NATO leaders are set to agree a historic defense spending pledge, but the hike won’t apply to all

THE HAGUE Netherlands AP The head of the NATO military alliance warned Monday that no country could have an opt-out from a massive new hike in defense spending and that progress they make toward reaching the new target will be reviewed in four years At a summit in the Netherlands on Wednesday NATO leaders are expected to endorse a goal of spending of their gross domestic product on their safety to be able to fulfil the alliance s plans for defending against outside attack NATO has no opt-out and NATO does no side deals NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte reported reporters in The Hague It is critical that each ally carries their fair share of the burden However Spain commented that it has reached a deal with NATO to be excluded from the target while President Donald Trump announced the figure shouldn t apply to the United States only its allies In announcing Spain s decision Sunday Prime Minister Pedro S nchez commented the spending pledge language in NATO s final summit communique a one-page text of perhaps half a dozen paragraphs would no longer refer to all allies It raises questions about what demands could be insisted on from other members of the alliance like Belgium Canada France and Italy that also would struggle to hike protection spending by billions of dollars Rutte conceded that for certain reaching will still be a long road ahead On Friday Trump insisted the U S has carried its allies for years and now they must step up I don t think we should but I think they should he declared NATO is going to have to deal with Spain Trump also branded Canada a low payer NATO s new spending goals The goal is made up of two parts The allies would agree to hike pure defense spending to of GDP up from the current target of at least which of the countries have achieved Money spent to arm Ukraine also would count A further would include upgrading roads bridges ports and airfields so armies can better deploy establishing measures to counter cyber and hybrid attacks and preparing societies for future conflict The second spending basket is easy for largest part nations including Spain Much can be included But the on core spending is a massive challenge Last year Spain spent of GDP on its military budget according to NATO estimates making it the alliance s lowest spender S nchez disclosed Spain would be able to respect its commitments to NATO by spending of GDP on defense requirements Spain also is among Europe s smallest suppliers of arms and ammunition to Ukraine according to the Kiel Institute which tracks such sponsorship It s estimated to have sent about euros worth of military aid since Russia invaded in Beyond Spain s economic challenges S nchez has other problems He relies on small parties to govern and corruption scandals have ensnared his inner circle and family members He is under growing pressure to call an early poll Why the spending increase is needed There are solid reasons for ramping up spending The Europeans believe Russia s war on Ukraine poses an existential threat to them Moscow has been blamed for a major rise in sabotage cyberattacks and GPS jamming incidents European leaders are girding their citizens for the possibility of more The alliance s plans for defending Europe and North America against a Russian attack require investments of at least NATO experts have stated All allies have endorsed these Each country has been assigned capability targets to play its part Spanish Foreign Minister Jos Albares declared Monday that the debate must be not a raw percentage but around capabilities He noted Spain can reach the capabilities that have been fixed by the organization with Countries much closer to Russia Belarus and Ukraine all have agreed to reach the target as well as nearby Germany Norway Sweden and the Netherlands which is hosting the two-day summit starting Tuesday The Netherlands estimates NATO s defense plans would force it to dedicate at least to core defense spending That means finding an additional billion to billion euros billion to billion Setting a deadline It s not enough to agree to spend more money Several allies haven t yet hit an earlier target that they agreed in after Russia annexed Ukraine s Crimean Peninsula So the incentive of a deadline is required The U S insists it cannot be an open-ended pledge and a decade is too long Still Italy says it wants years to hit the target The date of was initially floated but appears to be the year that will be settled on An official review of progress is likely to be conducted in early just after elections are scheduled to take place in the United States NATO is absolutely convinced Spain will have to spend Rutte mentioned Each country will now regularly document on what they are doing in terms of spending and reaching the targets So we will see And anyway there will be a review in