Spain will invest an extra 2.08 billion euros on defense this year by reallocating funds to existing defense ministry procurement contracts, the government said, quoted by Reuters, BTA reports.
The country is under increasing pressure from NATO to meet its commitment to military spending of 2% of gross domestic product. Spain currently has the lowest defense spending among all 32 members of the Alliance — just 1.3% of GDP. To reach the target, Madrid must increase its annual military budget by around 10 billion euros.
Spain has already committed to reaching 2% by 2029, but the government has signaled it could accelerate the process, although no new deadline has been set. This comes amid increased efforts within the European Union to strengthen common defense and security.
“The government's aspiration is to achieve this goal as soon as possible“, said cabinet spokeswoman Pilar Alegría after a cabinet meeting.
She specified that the funds would be mainly directed at “modernization, maintenance and improvement of personnel, infrastructure and facilities“ within the framework of existing contracts.