All European nations in NATO need to contribute to the continent's security and reach the 5% GDP defence spending target, including Spain, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal told Euronews in an exclusive interview.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he received an opt-out on the significant demand in defence spending from NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. But Michal explained Rutte told him this was not the case.
“(Rutte) said that no, no exemptions. So I would say that Pedro Sánchez will also have to elaborate on how he will fulfil the major criteria,” explained Michel.
Moreover, Michal said, the need to defend NATO territory should be based on solidarity, not just proximity to Russia.
"It's not only the question of kilometres how far you are from Russia, it's also about recognising that Europe and NATO work as a team", he said.
"NATO is only the strongest alliance because everybody contributes and everybody has certain capabilities", said Michal.
Sánchez said his country — which currently spends 1.5% on defence — could meet the requirements of adequate defence by reaching the original aim of 2% by the end of this year. However, he said spending 5% is not in line with Spain’s “worldview”.
Michal agreed that to meet such a massive investment, the money must be sacrificed from other budgetary priorities.
“We cut spending, we are borrowing. And we also raise taxes”, he said.
“To be honest it’s not always all that popular, but to explain it to people I would say that it's probably quite simple but because we are doing it for ourselves, for our kids, for a neighbourhood, for our countries”, he said.
At over 4.5%, Estonia is consistently one of the highest spenders on defence, necessarily so given its history and proximity to Russia.
Michal said the threat from Russia will remain high as long as Russian President Vladimir Putin lives because it is war and conflict that keeps him in control.
“We know our neighbour,” he stated. “For Putin, it's all about being in power."
"To be honest, Putin needs conflict like fish needs water because if you don't have a conflict then probably people in Russia will be asking, where is my son, where's my husband, where are my assets,” Michal said.
“So to keep everybody under the lead, keep people quiet, keep the regime in power. Putin needs this kind of conflict,” he said.
Estonia has pledged to raise defence spending to 5.4% by next year, while the other 32 NATO members have agreed to spend 5% of GDP on security by 2035.
