The bloc’s members are reportedly rushing to agree to spend 5% of their GDP on defense ahead of a summit next month
NATO member states are struggling to overcome divisions and define the details of an increase in spending targets demanded by the US ahead of the bloc’s annual summit in The Hague, Bloomberg has reported.
US President Donald Trump has demanded that European NATO states spend 5% of their GDP on defense, warning that Washington may reconsider its commitments to the bloc if they fail. According to NATO’s latest report, ten of the bloc’s 32 members do note even spend 2% of GDP on defense, a baseline bloc target.
The US has argued that European NATO members must take primary responsibility for their own defense. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently described the current dynamic as the US alongside “a bunch of junior partners that aren’t doing their fair share.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is reportedly pushing for a compromise spending target of 3.5% of GDP within seven years, plus an additional 1.5% for wider defense-related spending, Bloomberg has cited senior diplomats as saying.
Foreign ministers are meeting in Türkiye on Wednesday and Thursday to define what qualifies under the 1.5% category, including military mobility, dual-use goods, and cybersecurity.
NATO defense ministers met in Brussels on Wednesday to debate the 3.5% target and review “highly classified lists of weapons and other capabilities” that are part of the bloc’s “ambitious” militarization drive, according to Bloomberg.
The talks come as Russian and Ukrainian delegations are expected to meet in Istanbul on Thursday to discuss possible steps toward ending the conflict.
Earlier media reports speculated Trump might skip the summit if the 5% spending demand is not met. US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker insisted on Tuesday that Trump will attend.
The increased militarization of the bloc follows claims, long denied by Moscow, that Russia could attack a NATO member in coming years. Russia has accused the bloc of “irresponsibly stoking fears” of a fabricated threat.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the bloc “has degraded into an openly militarized entity.”
