Portugal on Monday (Jan 27) said it was ready to bring forward its planned increases on defence spending – among the lowest in NATO – to meet the defence alliance’s two-per cent of GDP minimum before 2029.
But neighbouring Spain, bottom of the pile of NATO members’ defence spending as a proportion of output, refused to budge on its timeline of hitting the two-per cent mark by 2029 during a visit by alliance chief Mark Rutte.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte attends a joint press conference with Portugal Prime Minister Luis Montenegro at Sao Bento Palace in Lisbon, Portugal, Jan 27, 2025. (PHOTO: REUTERS/Rodrigo Antunes)
Portugal’s announcement came after the return to power of US President Donald Trump, who has frequently castigated European members of the alliance for not investing enough in their militaries.
The mercurial Republican has in the past thrown into question whether the United States would protect NATO members who did not meet the spending threshold, which he recently suggested should be raised to five per cent of GDP.
