NATO countries opposed Trump’s proposal to increase military spending to 5% of GDP. This was reported by Reuters.
At the same time, there is discussion that spending may increase, but not as sharply. According to sources, the goal could rise to 3% of GDP, but even this figure would be a serious challenge for many NATO members, who are struggling to meet the current target of 2%.
A final decision will be made at the alliance summit, which will take place in June in The Hague. Analysts surveyed by Reuters believe that a 5% GDP target is economically and politically impossible for most NATO members, as it would require hundreds of billions of dollars in additional funding. According to NATO, Poland had the highest defense spending in 2023 at 4.12% of GDP. Estonia ranked second with 3.43%, followed by the United States with 3.38%.
Eight alliance countries still have not reached the current target of 2%. Trump, during his first presidential term, insisted on increasing NATO countries’ defense spending to 2% of GDP. After his re-election in November 2024, he raised the issue again. In late December, Trump stated that all member countries should allocate at least 5% of their GDP to defense annually.
In recent years, particularly since the start of the war in Ukraine, most NATO countries have increased their military spending, and now 25 out of 32 countries exceed the 2% of GDP threshold. This target is marked as desirable in NATO decisions, but its achievement is not legally required.
