Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, who is considered one of the top ministers in Pedro Sánchez’s government, stated that the EU should create its own army, at a time when the United States is questioning the cohesion of NATO.
The Spanish Foreign Minister argued that the EU should consider the possibility of creating the famous European army, as the US war against Iran is a defining moment for Europe’s strategic autonomy.
Spanish Foreign Minister: “We must be free from coercion”
“We cannot wake up every morning wondering what the US will do, our citizens deserve something better,” Albares said today (11/05) to Politico, while adding that “this is the moment for Europe’s sovereignty and independence.”
The Spanish Foreign Minister then emphasized: “We must become independent from the US, that is, be free from coercion whether it involves tariffs or the use of military threats, and also free from the consequences of others’ decisions.”
Speaking before the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels, Albares implied that European nations like Spain and Germany cannot be “held hostage” by Trump if they don’t rely exclusively on NATO for military support.
“Nothing happens because no one dares to try to test if Article 5”
“The magic of NATO is that you’re in NATO and nothing happens because no one dares to try to test whether Article 5 actually works or not,” he said, referring to the clause that ensures an attack on one member of the North Atlantic Alliance is considered an attack on all.
“This is what we must recreate – deterrence, meaning that if you want to mess with me, go somewhere else, because we will stand united, that’s why we need an army, a common defense capability,” he emphasized, referring to the creation of a European army that would serve as a deterrent to potential US threats.
“NATO no longer provides the security it once did”
Then, the Spanish Foreign Minister stressed: “The US makes its army stronger and stronger and no one believes this weakens NATO, but if NATO no longer provides the security it provided before, then we must do more as Europeans.”
The statements by the head of Spanish diplomacy are not coincidental, given the timing and the diplomatic crisis between Washington and Madrid, culminating in Trump’s threats that American soldiers would be withdrawn from Spain because Pedro Sánchez’s government harshly criticized the war against Iran.
Another “thorn” in Trump-Sánchez relations is the fact that the American president had singled out Spain as the only NATO member that disagreed with increasing the defense spending ceiling to 5% of GDP.
According to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Spain spent 2.1% of its GDP on defense spending in 2025 – the first time the country exceeded the long-term 2% target since 1994.
Additionally, according to data from the Spanish Ministry of Defense, approximately 3,000 members of the Spanish military are deployed under NATO alliance auspices.
