Spain has called for the creation of a “European Army” to free the continent from American “coercion” and reliance on Washington for defence.
Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares has called for the creation of a European Union army that would ensure that Europe is free from what he described as “coercion”. This continental army, the Minister argued, would also ensure that Russia or other forces are not tempted to “exploit doubts” over whether the U.S. would ride to the rescue in the event of a future conflict, the very basis of the NATO alliance’s founding agreement.
Speaking at Tuesday’s Foreign Affairs Council of European defence ministers in Brussels to the Politico publication, Albares attempted to assert that his proposal does not seek to undermine NATO.
Spain’s interjection on continental defence is extraordinary precisely because it is already far from being seen as a military leader in Europe, but rather a delinquent that lags far behind all other major European nations.
Indeed, Spain, under the administration of socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, is one of the worst contributing members of NATO. While the rest of the alliance has — reluctantly in many cases — finally agreed that the world is becoming less stable and more defence spending is necessary, Spain has bitterly resisted it.
Under Sánchez, Spain spent the equivalent of just 1.3 per cent of GDP in defence during 2024, and barely scraped the two per cent mark by 2025. Of NATO’s major European nations Poland is at 4.5 per cent, and the United Kingdom at 2.5 per cent are most dedicated, while the United States uses 3.2 per cent of its GDP.
Despite being a longstanding deadbeat on defence, Spain evidently resents the influence of the United States on NATO and it is on this aversion the push for a new European military — to increase Spain’s power without increasing its defence spending — is based. “We cannot be waking up every morning wondering what the U.S. will do next,” Albares reportedy said. “Our citizens deserve better”.
Debates on a new European military have been ongoing for decades. Concern that the British military being rolled into a new EU Army was an important deciding factor in the country’s vote to leave the European Union in 2016, as it was judged surrendering sovereign control of the Armed Forces to Brussels would mean an intolerable loss of independence and sovereignty. Remarkably in Spain’s new push to be included in an EU army, Albares doesn’t appear to accept this perspective, and thinks Spain would be liberated from foreign coercion by further federating into the European Union.
He said:
This is the moment of the sovereignty and independence of Europe. The Americans are inviting us to that… We have to be free of dependence. Free of dependence means to be free of coercion, whether it comes to tariffs or the use of military threat. And free of the consequences of someone else’s decisions.
Nevertheless, the minister claimed to be a great fan of the United States and asserted the importance of the transatlantic relationship. He continued:
For me, the United States is the historical natural ally of Europeans. We need both Europeans and Americans on board. And we have to accept that the Trump administration has a new vision and new ideas about transatlantic relations.
Spain’s socialist government, in addition to refusing to step up to President Trump’s calls for increased NATO contributions for its own defence, has also very publicly established itself as an opponent of the war in Iran. After adopting an initial purported “neutral” stance on the ongoing conflict in Iran, Prime Minister Sánchez and his administration have since them openly opposed to the U.S. military actions at the Middle East. Albares personally confirmed in March that the Spanish government barred the United States from using its military bases for Operation Epic Fury while prohibiting U.S. military aircraft from passing though its airspace.
Albares has again this week reiterated the country’s determination to snub the United States.
As earlier reported in April, Spain’s lack of assistance led to an internal Pentagon email allegedly describing the possibility of suspending the country from NATO, with President Donald Trump later revealing that he is considering the possibility of reducing U.S. troop deployments in Spain, Germany, and Italy over their lack of cooperation in the ongoing conflict in Iran.