1 day ago
5
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.
Spain was the only NATO ally not to commit to a large increase in military expenditures. Its embrace of a social safety net is a key reason.
July 24, 2025, 5:00 a.m. ET
María del Carmen Abascal was already frustrated over the lack of affordable housing in Spain, where rising rent could force her out of the apartment in Madrid she has lived in for 69 years.
Then she heard about the government’s plans to increase military spending this year by more than $12 billion. And if NATO had its way, it would be a lot more.
“They should put that money into social spending, in housing, in everything that people in Spain need,” Ms. Abascal said, her lips pursed indignantly during a recent interview in one of the last working-class neighborhoods in central Madrid, where housing prices are skyrocketing.
Perhaps nowhere in Europe has the tug of war between spending more for domestic priorities or for defense so vexed a government than in Spain.
Torn between a looming Russian threat to Europe and housing, health care and education needs, Spain has tried to split the difference. It was the only country in the alliance that openly refused to agree last month to spend up to 5 percent of its gross domestic product over the next decade on defense, as President Trump demands.
The drastic spending increase, which the rest of NATO’s 32 member countries committed to, would ease Europe’s dependence on the United States for security. But for Spain, it would mean nearly doubling its annual defense budget to an estimated $73.8 billion, draining funding for social programs.
