NATO countries, towards the 5% target - Members agree to increase defense spending before the summit in The Hague
NATO allies have reached a consensus to increase defense spending to 5% of their countries' GDP by 2035. According to reports citing diplomatic sources, ambassadors from the 32 NATO member states signed the new spending pledge ahead of a major summit in The Hague to be held on Tuesday and Wednesday.
This week, allies are expected to commit to spending about 3.5 percent of GDP on "military defense" that would include weapons and troops, as well as an additional 1.5 percent on defense-related investments, such as cybersecurity and the mobility of armed units.
The 5 percent pledge has long been supported by US President Donald Trump, but he suggested last week that Washington may not meet it and should not be held to the same standard. The United States currently spends about 3.2 to 3.4 percent of its GDP on defense.
The Netherlands is hosting the 32-nation alliance's annual summit starting Tuesday, June 24, with leaders scheduled to meet on Wednesday, June 25.
The heads of government are keen to reach an agreement on a defence budget increase that appeared to be in the works last week, until Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wrote to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that Madrid's commitment to spend 5% of its gross domestic product on defence "would not only be unreasonable but also counterproductive".
Reports suggest the alliance will create a provision and exception to suit Madrid's situation. Almost a third of US allies still fall short of NATO's current goal of at least 2% of their gross domestic product, even though defense spending has increased since Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized an invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago.
The summit is being guarded by a large military and police force, drones, no-fly zones and cybersecurity specialists. Codenamed "Orange Shield," the largest Dutch security operation to date will involve some 27,000 officers, or half the country's police force.
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