NATO leaders on Wednesday backed increasing defense spending to 5% of their country’s gross domestic product by 2035, a major diplomatic victory for President Donald Trump, who has for years demanded “freeloading” allies pay their fair share for their own security.
According to Reuters, almost all NATO members backed a statement committing to the target, excluding Spain and possibly Slovakia. An official signing is expected on Wednesday before the end of the conference.
The new defense spending goal more than doubles NATO’s current 2% target.
The spending commitment is divided into two parts: 3.5% for traditional military spending, such as air defense and recruitment, while the remaining 1.5% can include infrastructure, like roads and bridges that troops could use.
“There is absolute conviction with my colleagues at the table that, given this threat from the Russians, given the international security situation, there is no alternative,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told reporters.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb, whose country borders Russia, described the shift as “the birth of a new NATO, which means a more balanced NATO and a NATO which has more European responsibility.”
Spain broke ranks by declaring it doesn’t need to meet the goal, claiming it can fulfill its commitments by spending much less, a sentiment that angered many at the conference, including Rutte.
“We fully respect the legitimate desire of other countries to increase their defense investment, but we are not going to do it,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said. In 2024, Spain’s defense expenditure as a share of GDP stood at 1.28%, the lowest of any NATO member.
Slovakia appears poised to follow Spain in shunning the spending increase. Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico said Tuesday that his country “has other priorities in the coming years than armament.”
S T A T E M E N T
of the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Robert Fico
23 June 2025The Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic points out that all international political, security, and legal mechanisms intended for decision-making and mandates on the use of military force in… pic.twitter.com/GFvnGaiuXs
— Robert Fico 🇸🇰 (@RobertFicoSVK) June 23, 2025
Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Deputy Prime Minister of Poland, whose country allocates a higher percentage of its GDP for defense than any NATO member, blasted Spain’s lack of commitment.
“We believe that any deviation from this principle by any member country is a bad example,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said before flying to the summit.
“It’s incredibly unfair to the alliance,” another NATO official said to POLITICO.
Trump, who has criticized NATO members for inadequate defense spending since his first administration, is scheduled to meet separately with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky following the summit. Zelensky attended a pre-summit dinner Tuesday evening but was not invited to Wednesday’s main session.
