THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — NATO leaders agreed on Wednesday on a massive hike in defense spending after pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, and expressed their “ironclad commitment” to come to each other’s aid if attacked.
The 32 leaders endorsed a final summit statement saying: “Allies commit to invest 5% of GDP annually on core defense requirements as well as defense- and security-related spending by 2035 to ensure our individual and collective obligations.”
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Spain had already officially announced that it cannot meet the target, and others have voiced reservations, but the investment pledge includes a review of spending in 2029 — after the next U.S. presidential elections — to monitor progress and reassess the security threat posed by Russia.
The leaders also underlined their “ironclad commitment” to NATO’s collective security guarantee – “that an attack on one is an attack on all.” Ahead of the summit, Trump had again raised doubts over whether the United States would defend its allies.
The show of unity vindicated NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s billing of the summit as “transformational,” even though it papered over divisions.
“Together, allies have laid the foundations for a stronger, fairer and more lethal NATO,” Rutte told reporters after chairing the meeting in The Hague. “This will fuel a quantum leap in our collective defense.”
The spending hike requires each countries to spend billions of dollars. It comes as the United States — NATO’s biggest-spending member — shifts its attention away from Europe to focus on security priorities elsewhere, notably in the Middle East and Indo-Pacific.
But ahead of the meeting, Spain announced that it would not be able to reach the target by the new 2035 deadline, calling it “unreasonable.” Belgium signaled that it would not get there either, and Slovakia said it reserves the right to decide its own defense spending.
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Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez stood conspicuously aside from other leaders in the summit family photo.
Many European countries face major economic challenges, and Trump’s global tariff war could make it even harder for America’s allies to reach their targets. Some countries are already squeezing welfare and foreign aid spending to channel extra funds into their military budgets.
On Tuesday, Trump complained that “there’s a problem with Spain. Spain is not agreeing, which is very unfair to the rest of them, frankly.” He has also criticized Canada as “a low payer.” In 2018, a NATO summit during Trump’s first term unraveled due to a dispute over defense spending.
Russia’s neighbors lead the pack in boosting spending
Other countries closer to the borders of Russia and Ukraine — Poland, the three Baltic states and Nordic countries — have committed to the 5% goal, as have NATO’s European heavyweights Britain, France, Germany and the Netherlands.
In their statement, the leaders said they were united “in the face of profound security threats and challenges, in particular the long-term threat posed by Russia.” It had been feared that Trump would would object to that assessment, which European governments need to justify higher spending.
Trump has been reluctant to support Ukraine in its war against Russia’s full-scale invasion.
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“We stand by Ukraine in its pursuit of peace and will continue to support Ukraine on its irreversible path to NATO membership,” Rutte said. The Trump administration has vetoed Ukraine’s bid to join NATO for the foreseeable future.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb said the agreement “is a big win, I think, for both President Trump and I think it’s also a big win for Europe.” He told reporters that “we’re witnessing the birth of a new NATO, which means a more balanced NATO.”
He said it would take nations “back to the defense expenditure levels of the Cold War.” NATO countries started to cut their military budgets in safer times after the Berlin Wall collapsed in 1989.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer threw his weight behind the hike, declaring, “”This is the moment to unite, for Europe to make fundamental shift in its posture and for NATO to meet this challenge head-on.”
In a fresh take on Trump’s MAGA movement, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said: “We should choose a motto, ‘make NATO great again.’”
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the NATO allies agreed to make 2% of GDP the minimum spending level. Last year, 22 countries were expected to hit that target, up from just three a decade ago.
In The Hague, the allies endorsed a major revamp of their spending targets. They upped the ante for what NATO calls “core defense spending” to 3.5%, while changing how it’s counted to include providing military support to Ukraine.
To hit Trump’s 5% demand, the deal set a second target of 1.5% of GDP for a broader range of defense-related spending, such as improving roads, bridges, ports and airfields so that armies can deploy more quickly, countering cyber and hybrid attack measures, or preparing societies to deal with future conflicts.
“This declaration is historic. We are 32 allies supporting that ambition, which is huge,” said Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. “We have been struggling to get above 2% and now we said 3.5%, which is necessary in order to reach our capabilities.”
US decision on forces in Europe expected in coming months
Extra funds will also be needed should the Trump administration announce a draw-down of forces in Europe, where around 84,000 U.S. troops are based, leaving European allies to plug any security gaps. The Pentagon is expected to announce its intentions in coming months.
Asked why Trump has suggested that the new spending target should not apply to the United States, Rutte said: “The U.S. is more or less there,” in terms of the 5% benchmark.
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Beyond Trump’s demands, European allies and Canada have steeply ramped up defense spending out of concern about the threated posed by Russia. Several countries are concerned that Russia could carry out an attack on NATO territory by the end of the decade. Hungary is not one of them, though.
“I think Russia is not strong enough to represent a real threat to us. We are far stronger,” said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, fielding questions from reporters, leaning back with his hands thrust into his pockets. Orbán is considered Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in Europe.
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Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.
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