Transcription
Uh, it was an informal, casual chat, uh, in which there was absolutely no tension at all. On the contrary, everything was kind words and friendliness. Uh, and it took place after the press conference given by the president of the United States.
Secondly, how do we in the Spanish government take these statements that we learned about, logically through you, right? While we were waiting for the the summit to begin, well, calmly and with patience, right? Calm and patience and and a certain normality, too, because at the end of the day when one, uh, steps back a bit from from these types of statements, what one sees is that the relations, uh, between the United States and Spain are relations that are in social, cultural, economic, and also political terms, uh, very, very positive, very, very positive.
And when we talk precisely about the the commercial sphere, um, I have always said it, you have heard me say it on repeated occasions, uh, because it is not the first time, um, well, that we are the target of this type of criticism, uh, that Spain suffers a trade deficit with the United States. No, no, we are not one of the we are not one of the those the European countries that has a trade surplus with the United States. Rather, we suffer from a trade deficit.
Secondly, as the European Commission itself, rightly recalled today, um, trade policy is a common policy. It is a policy that is in the hands of the, uh, community institutions, which, by the way, have already publicly come out to recall the characteristics of that trade policy.
>> I would like to ask you, uh, if, uh, during the on the course of this, uh, NATO summit, you have had the opportunity to greet or exchange, uh, any comments with President Donald Trump? And specifically, I would like to ask you, um, how you take the attacks he made today, uh, which because, well, it seems reasonable to think that, uh, just because they were expected they are still serious. When he speaks of Spain as a lost cause, a terrible ally, bad people, that we must cut ties with Spain or suggest to the to the NATO Secretary General himself that they expel Spain from the Atlantic Alliance. I would like to know how you take those attacks and if these threats are consistent with the reality of the diplomatic relationship and the contacts that the government of Spain maintains with the United States within the scope of NATO. Because these all these facts that that that the government explains to the the media and to the public are they also presented to NATO allies? I would like to know what the response is from the American administration when they hear this information. And on this matter one last point, I would like to know if you have been able to speak with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and if you have discussed these latest attacks by Donald Trump.
>> And so, well, with it was an informal casual chat in which there was absolutely no tension at all. On the contrary, everything was keen words and friendliness. And it took place after the press conference given by the President of the United States. Secondly, how do we in the Spanish government take these statements that we learned about logically through you, right? While we were waiting for the the summit to begin. Well, calmly and with patience, right? Calm and patience and and a certain normality too, because at the end of the day, when one steps back a bit from from these types of statements, what one sees is that the relations between the United States and Spain are relations that are in social, cultural, economic and also political terms very very positive, very very positive.
And when we talk precisely about the the commercial sphere, I have always said it, you have heard me say it on repeated occasions, because it is not the first time well, that we are the target of this type of criticism that Spain suffers a trade deficit with the United States. No, no, we are not one of the we are not one of the those the European countries that has a trade surplus with the United States. Rather, we suffer from a trade deficit. Secondly, as the European Commission itself rightly recalled today, trade policy is a common policy. It is a policy that is in the hands of the community institutions, which by the way have already publicly come out to recall the characteristics of that trade policy. Therefore, we are a trade block, and it is with the European Commission that all trade agreements must be negotiated, including the tariffs or duties that the United States administration has previously imposed on the European Union, right? And the And by the way, from Spain we have always had an absolutely constructive attitude in the sense of supporting the European Commission to be able to reach an agreement and also be ratified in the European Parliament by the in this case pro-European forces to somehow provide that predictability to the economic agents that operate both in the United States and in the European Union. Therefore, that is the second point I would like to convey. And the third is that well, I am a social democrat, right? But well, trade relations are woven between companies, not between governments or states. Therefore, I believe that beyond all this, the relations are positive. Spain is a country that wants and wants to have the best relations with all countries, especially with allied nations with whom we have very, very strong ties that have transcended the ideological orientation of the administration that have been in Spain or the United States over the decades. We have not spoken about a red card. We only talked about soccer and well, about the the success that is the development of the of the World Cup itself in in the United States. We also talked a bit about golf since President Trump is a fan of the sport. I do not play it that much, but uh well, we have been talking about these things. It was an absolutely informal conversation in a good tone and very cordial.
>> A major rift is emerging inside NATO even before leaders sit down for the alliance's annual summit. [music] Spain has doubled down on its opposition to proposals requiring NATO members to spend 5% of their gross [music] domestic product on defense, setting up a major debate ahead of the alliance's summit in Ankara. According [music] to Spanish government sources, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will use the summit to reiterate Madrid's position [music] directly to NATO allies. The proposal has been strongly backed by the US President [music] Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who argue [music] that Europe must dramatically increase military spending in response to growing global security challenges.
>> [music] >> However, Spain says a one-size-fits-all spending target is neither realistic nor necessary. [music] Madrid argues that committing 5% of GDP to defense would undermine its social and economic [music] model. Government officials say such a dramatic increase would force difficult choices between military spending and funding for [music] public services such as health care, education, pensions, and social welfare. Spain insists that national security should not come at the cost of economic stability or citizens quality of life. Instead of focusing solely on how much countries spend, Spanish officials say NATO should place greater emphasis on actual military capabilities, operational readiness, [music] and contributions to alliance missions. The Sanchez government argues that Spain has substantially increased defense spending over recent years. According to officials, defense [music] investment has tripled since 2018, allowing Spain to finally reach NATO's [music] long-standing benchmark of 2% of GDP. Madrid says this represents one of the fastest increases [music] in defense spending among alliance members, but Spanish officials argue that looking only at spending figures ignores [music] the country's broader contribution to NATO. According to the government, Spain ranks [music] seventh among NATO's 32 members in overall military capabilities. It is third in the number of troops deployed on international peacekeeping missions. It contributes the largest troop deployment on NATO's eastern flank, where alliance forces are reinforcing [music] defenses following Russia's war in Ukraine. Spain also [music] commands key NATO missions, including the maritime component of the NATO [music] Response Force and the multinational brigade deployed in Slovakia. Madrid says these operational [music] commitments demonstrate that Spain is already carrying its share of the alliance's burden. Spanish officials also reject suggestions that the country has not supported Ukraine. Since Russia's full-scale invasion, Spain says it has committed [music] 3.7 billion euros in assistance to Kyiv. It has also trained more than 9,000 Ukrainian military personnel, while continuing to provide military equipment and logistical support. Government [music] sources argue that these contributions should be considered alongside defense spending when evaluating NATO members' [music] commitments. Spain is also expressing skepticism about whether many NATO members can [music] achieve a 5% defense target. For many European countries, allocating 5% of GDP to defense would require major budgetary adjustments and could prove politically difficult. Spain argues [music] that ambitious pledges are meaningful only if they can be sustained over time. The disagreement [music] over defense spending is expected to dominate discussions at the NATO summit in Ankara. Alliance leaders will also discuss continued military support for Ukraine, expanding defense production, strengthening NATO's eastern flank, and adapting to evolving security threats. But the debate over the proposed 5% [music] target could expose significant differences within the alliance over how Europe should fund its future defense. As NATO leaders gather in Ankara, the alliance is united on many security challenges, but increasingly divided over who should pay the bill.