Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – On Thursday, U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth expressed his confidence that NATO countries would agree to Donald Trump’s request for a significant increase in defence expenditure, but he added that it had to happen by a summit later in June.
According to the U.S. president, NATO countries should increase defence spending from the present goal of 2% of GDP to 5%.
What did Hegseth demand from NAtO countries?
“You have to be more than just flags to be an alliance. Formations are required. As he arrived in Brussels for a meeting of NATO defence ministers, Hegseth remarked, “You have to be more than conferences.”
“We’re here to continue the work that President Trump started, which is a commitment to 5% defence spending across this alliance, which we think will happen,”
Hegseth stated, adding:
“It has to happen by the summit at The Hague later this month.”
How does Trump’s demand reshape NATO’s defence priorities?
According to diplomats, European allies are aware that increasing defence spending is necessary to guarantee the United States’ ongoing commitment to the security of the continent and that keeping the United States on board will enable Trump to announce a victory on his 5% demand at the June 24–25 summit.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told reporters,
“That will be a considerable extra investment,”
and that
“we will decide on a much higher spending target for all the nations in NATO”
at the Hague conference.
What is Rutte’s plan to hit Trump’s benchmark?
Rutte has suggested that alliance countries increase defence expenditure to 3.5% of GDP and dedicate an additional 1.5% to broader security-related spending to reach Trump’s 5% target. Rutte stated that he anticipates allies reaching a consensus on Thursday with “historic” new capability objectives.
In his opening remarks, he stated that the goals would “make NATO a stronger, fairer and more lethal alliance” and better balance defence contributions between the United States, Canada, and Europe. The targets specify the number of troops, weapons, and ammunition that each nation must supply to NATO.
Some eastern European governments view Rutte’s proposal to attain the 5% defence objective by 2032 as too far off, while others believe it is too early given present levels of industrial production and investment.
