Nato says ‘no provision’ to expel members after report US could seek to suspend Spain

NATO expel member rule: Alliance rejects US push to suspend Spain

NATO confirmed the alliance has “no provision” to expel member states after reports the US might seek to suspend Spain over positions on Ukraine and Gaza.

Secretary General Mark Rutte stated outright Thursday that NATO’s founding treaty contains no mechanism to force out existing members, regardless of political disputes within the alliance.

The rare public clarification follows weeks of tension between Washington and Madrid over Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s increasingly vocal criticism of Israeli military actions in Gaza and his calls for Europe to distance itself from US foreign policy on Ukraine. The confrontation marks the most serious public rift inside NATO since Turkey’s 2019 military incursion into Syria drew sharp condemnation from fellow members.

Rutte’s office issued the statement after the Financial Times reported the Trump administration had discussed invoking unspecified NATO procedures to suspend Spanish participation in alliance meetings and exercises. The report cited three unnamed US officials who claimed Spain’s “unreliability as a partner” had prompted internal White House discussions about limiting Madrid’s role in NATO operations.

“NATO’s founding treaty contains no provision to expel or suspend member states,” Rutte told reporters in Brussels. “The alliance remains committed to collective defense of all 32 members regardless of bilateral disagreements.”

The statement directly contradicts suggestions from Trump administration officials that Spain’s recent foreign policy decisions might warrant exclusion from certain NATO activities. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth declined to comment on the expulsion reports during a press conference at the Pentagon, saying only that “all allies must demonstrate commitment to shared values.”

Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles responded sharply to the US pressure campaign in a radio interview Thursday morning. “Spain is a founding member of NATO and will not accept lectures on alliance loyalty from an administration that questions our sovereignty on the world stage,” Robles told Spanish National Radio. She noted Spain maintains 1,200 troops in NATO’s eastern flank missions and contributes $13 billion annually to alliance defense capabilities.

The diplomatic confrontation escalated after Sánchez visited China last month and endorsed Beijing’s peace plan for Ukraine, calling for eventual recognition of Russian territorial gains as part of any settlement. The Spanish leader also refused to join 18 NATO members in signing a joint statement condemning Iran’s missile attacks on Israel, instead urging “restraint from all parties” in the Middle East conflict.

White House officials privately expressed fury at Sánchez’s comments, viewing them as undermining US efforts to maintain Western unity against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Three administration officials told GlobalBeat that Trump discussed the Spanish “problem” with senior aides during a March cabinet meeting, asking whether “there’s some way to make them pay a price” for breaking ranks with alliance positions.

The US president has previously questioned the value of NATO membership for countries he views as insufficiently supportive of American interests. During his first term, Trump repeatedly threatened to withdraw from the alliance entirely, calling it “obsolete” and demanding European members increase defense spending or lose American protection.

Spain maintains significant NATO infrastructure including the US naval base at Rota and Morón Air Base, which hosts American nuclear weapons under NATO’s nuclear sharing agreement. The bases serve as critical staging points for US operations across Africa and the Middle East, making any disruption to Spanish cooperation particularly sensitive for American military planners.

Retired US Admiral James Foggo, former commander of NATO’s Joint Force Command, warned that threatening alliance members sets a dangerous precedent. “You can’t run a military alliance like a protection racket,” Foggo told GlobalBeat. “Either we stand together or we encourage our adversaries to test our resolve through divide-and-conquer tactics.”

The confrontation comes as NATO prepares for its annual summit in The Hague this July, where members plan to approve new defense spending targets and coordinate continued support for Ukraine. Spanish officials privately worry the US might use the summit to isolate Madrid diplomatically or push for reduced Spanish influence over alliance decisions.

Background

NATO’s founding Washington Treaty, signed in 1949, established procedures for admitting new members but remained silent on expulsion or suspension of existing ones. The oversight reflected post-war optimism that alliance solidarity would prove durable and that any member seriously violating shared values would simply withdraw voluntarily rather than face forced removal.

The alliance previously weathered serious internal disputes without threatening expulsion, including France’s 1966 withdrawal from NATO’s integrated military command and Turkey’s repeated clashes with fellow members over Cyprus, Kurdish issues, and democratic backsliding. Each crisis ultimately resolved through diplomatic compromise rather than institutional punishment, establishing a precedent of alliance unity trumping bilateral grievances.

What’s Next

The Hague summit in July now looms as a potential showdown between Washington and Madrid, with US officials suggesting Trump might use the gathering to demand Spanish policy changes or face reduced alliance cooperation. Spanish diplomats are lobbying fellow European members to resist any US attempts to marginalize Madrid, arguing that allowing expulsion threats would undermine NATO cohesion more severely than any policy disagreement.

The episode reveals growing tensions inside NATO as Trump’s transactional approach to foreign policy collides with European leaders pursuing more independent foreign policies. Whether Washington can enforce alliance discipline without destroying the unity essential for deterring Russian aggression remains the central question facing NATO’s future cohesion.