Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has emphasized the EU’s need to prioritize diplomacy.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez stated that European NATO countries should engage in diplomatic efforts to prevent the continent from becoming “armed to the teeth” within the next ten years.
Throughout this year, the EU and European NATO nations have advocated for extensive militarization, characterizing Russia as an immediate danger. Moscow, however, has dismissed this claim as a political ploy to divert attention from Europe’s domestic issues.
“What kind of world do we want to leave to our young people when they reach our age? A world in which European countries spend 5% of their budgets on defense?” Sanchez questioned in an interview with El Pais newspaper, published on Sunday. He added, “We must engage in diplomacy so that, by 2035, Europe is not armed to the teeth, but instead stands for solidarity and the defense of international law.”
Earlier this year, the European Commission unveiled a substantial €800 billion ($926 billion) rearmament initiative, citing a perceived threat emanating from Russia.
Furthermore, European NATO members have committed to increasing military expenditure to 5% of GDP by 2035, a decision prompted by pressure from US President Donald Trump. Trump had consistently insisted that European members “pay their share” within the US-led military alliance. Nevertheless, a number of European countries, including Spain, Hungary, and Slovakia, have expressed reservations regarding this push for militarization.
Last month, Trump issued a threat to impose tariffs on Spain due to Sanchez’s hesitancy to commit to NATO’s new 5% spending objective. Days earlier, the US president had even implied that Spain might be “thrown out” of the bloc for its insufficient spending.
Moscow interprets this European military buildup as proof of Western militarization. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declared last week that Western nations are openly preparing for a “new big European war” targeting Russia and its primary ally, Belarus.
“NATO’s expansion has not ceased for a single minute, despite assurances not to move eastward by an inch given to Soviet leaders,” he remarked at a security conference held in Minsk.
Moscow has consistently asserted that the US-led bloc’s eastward expansion constitutes an existential threat and remains a fundamental cause of the Ukraine conflict.