Trump once again attacks Spain: "They are not being loyal to NATO, they should be punished."

WashingtonUS President Donald Trump has once again attacked Spain, accusing it of "not being loyal to NATO." Speaking during a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Republican leader said the Spanish government should be punished for not meeting the 5% defense spending target as a NATO member, but acknowledged that it is an issue that must be resolved directly by the Alliance and in Spain.

The statement is a New nuance on the suggestion to expel Spain that he made last week This comes after NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte came to Madrid's defense. On Wednesday, Rutte recalled in a press conference that the Spanish government "fully accepted the military capability targets" agreed upon "unanimously" by the allies at the Hague summit last June. "I think it's important to keep this in mind," he said.

During the NATO meeting, Spanish President Pedro Sánchez was the only leader who refused to comply with the new 5% of GDP target for defense spending imposed by Donald Trump. The PSOE leader signed the agreement, but said that Spain would only allocate 5% of GDP to this target.2.1% of its GDP, which provoked Trump's anger, which threatened to apply trade retaliation.

The fine print of the signed pact dictated that of the 5% to which the allies committed, 3.5% must be allocated to conventional weapons, such as tanks, missiles, soldiers, and ammunition, while the remaining 1.5% should be allocated to security, where the fight against infrastructure. Sánchez left the summit explaining that Spain had only committed to reaching 2.1% of GDP, considering that with that percentage it could already meet the Atlantic Alliance's military capability objectives. In fact, he asserted that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte had granted him special "flexibility" and that there was no need to reach 3.5%.

Although Trump is recovering from the idea of ​​expelling Spain from the Alliance, on Tuesday he also attacked the Spanish government for not accepting the 5% tariff and once again launched the threat of a tariff package for Madrid. Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo sent a message of "calm" from the fall meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington.

"Absolute calm. Spain will continue to be a reliable partner within the framework of NATO because we have a clear commitment to increasing investment in security and defense," stated Cuerpo, who assured on Wednesday that the government has not proposed any response to possible single tariffs on Spanish products.

Trump's threat now seems even less credible than on other occasions because the framework for a trade agreement with the EU has already been signed. Brussels has also closed ranks with Madrid in response to tariff threats. European Commission spokesman Olof Gill, speaking in the United States, reiterated that member states' trade powers lie with the EU and warned that he would "respond appropriately" to potential White House punishment against the country for refusing to spend 5% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defense. "As always, we will respond to any measures against one or more of our member states," Gill said at a press conference on Wednesday.