ISTANBUL

Spain will raise its defense spending to 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) by the end of 2025, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced Tuesday, following the approval of a new Industrial and Technological Plan for Security and Defense worth €10.471 billion ($11.2 billion).

Speaking after a Council of Ministers meeting in Madrid, Sanchez said the plan will allow Spain to meet its NATO commitments "in record time," the Spanish newspaper Expansion reported.

Once implemented, it will bring total defense and security spending to €33.123 billion this year, raising the current expenditure from around 1.4% of GDP to the alliance's 2% benchmark.

"This plan will be sent to Brussels tomorrow for its technical and budgetary assessment by the European Commission and NATO," Sanchez told reporters.

He underlined that the new investment will not require tax increases, new borrowing, or cuts to social or environmental programs.

"We will finance this plan without touching a single euro of the welfare state or the pockets of our citizens," Sanchez said.

The funding will come from redirected EU Next Generation funds, reduced public debt interest payments, and unused budget items from 2023, he added.

Sanchez said the plan aims to convert a time of global insecurity into an opportunity to boost Spain’s economy and industrial development.

Government estimates project a GDP increase of up to 0.7 percentage points, an 18% rise in research and development, and the creation of 100,000 jobs.