Everyone, including Spain, should reach 5% defence spending, Estonia's prime minister tells Euronews

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Everyone, including Spain, should reach 5% defence spending, Estonia's prime minister tells Euronews  In an exclusive interview with Euronews, Kristen Michal urged all NATO members, including Spain, to meet the 5% GDP defence spending target, emphasising the risks the continent faces from Russia.  READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/06/27/everyone-including-spain-should-reach-5-defence-spending-estonias-prime-minister-tells-eur  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

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00:01Estonian prime minister said everybody needs to pay their fair share out of solidarity

00:05for European security, as otherwise Putin will not stop at Ukraine.

00:10In an exclusive interview with Euronews, Kristen Mihail said Estonia is prepared to face Russia.

00:17Estonia is already in the top three largest contributing members of NATO per GDP.

00:23Putin needs conflict, like fish needs water, because if you don't have a conflict,

00:28then probably people in Russia will be asking, where is my son, where is my husband, where are my assets, and so on.

00:36So to keep everybody under the lead, keep people quiet, keep the regime in power, he needs, Putin needs this kind of conflict.

00:46Mihail emphasized that proximity to Russia is not the only major question,

00:50as he called on other low-spending countries like Spain to increase its defense budget.

00:55Recently, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez asked for an exemption to the 5% GDP expenditure on defense,

01:03with Mihail seeking further explanation.

01:06Every country has their own questions, let's say, in domestic politics.

01:11But, to be honest, in NATO's declaration, I also asked the secretary-general Mark Rüte,

01:16that do we have some kind of exemptions for Spain?

01:21He said that no, there are no exemptions and exemptions.

01:24So I would say that Pedro Sánchez will also have to elaborate himself that how he will fulfill the NATO criteria.

01:34The prime minister acknowledging the burden that has been placed on citizens,

01:38but emphasizes the importance given the context.

01:42We do both.

01:43We cut spending, we are borrowing, and we also raise taxes.

01:48To be honest, this, not everything in that order are not very so popular in Estonia, to be honest.

01:56But where would it be?

01:57So nobody likes the taxes and nobody likes the cuts in public budget.

02:01But you have to do what you have to do to increase defense spending.

02:05Estonia has pledged to raise defense spending to 5.4% by next year,

02:09while the other 32 NATO members agreeing to spend 5% of GDP on security by 2035.

02:16You can watch the full interview on the Europe Conversation next Thursday.

02:21Keep it free.

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