NATO agrees Hague summit statement with 5% defence spending goal, diplomats say
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NATO agrees Hague summit statement with 5% defence spending goal, diplomats say
NATO countries agree a statement for their upcoming summit that sets a goal of 5% of GDP for annual defence and security-related spending by 2035. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had blocked an earlier version of the text, saying that committing to a 5% target would be unreasonable and counterproductive. The statement has the green light from all 32 NATO members, diplomats said, but will only become official when it is approved by leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump at their summit in The Hague on Wednesday. NATO officials argue that big defence spending increases are needed to counter a growing threat from Russia.
BRUSSELS, June 22 (Reuters) – NATO countries agreed a statement on Sunday for their upcoming summit that sets a goal of 5% of GDP for annual defence and security-related spending by 2035, overcoming objections from Spain, diplomats said.
The statement has the green light from all 32 NATO members, diplomats said, but will only become official when it is approved by leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump at their summit in The Hague on Wednesday.
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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had blocked an earlier version of the text, saying that committing to a 5% target would be unreasonable and counterproductive. Spain spent 1.24% of GDP on defence in 2024, according to NATO estimates
Diplomats overcame Sanchez’s objections by adjusting the text on the spending pledge, changing the language from “we commit” to “allies commit”, diplomats said. That allowed Sanchez to claim the commitment would not apply to Spain.
“We fully respect the legitimate desire of other countries to increase their defence investment, but we are not going to do so,” Sanchez said in an address on Spanish television Sunday.
NATO operates by consensus so all of its 32 members have to approve a statement for it to be adopted.
NATO officials argue that big defence spending increases are needed to counter a growing threat from Russia and to allow Europe to take on more responsibility for its own security as the United States shifts its military focus to China.
The alliance’s current defence spending target is 2% of GDP but Trump insisted it should rise to 5% – although he suggested on Friday that target should not apply to the United States.
Under a plan by NATO boss Mark Rutte, countries would reach 5% of GDP by boosting their core defence spending goal from 2% to 3.5% and spending a further 1.5% on related items like adapting roads and bridges for military vehicles and cyber security.
Rutte had originally proposed countries meet the new target by 2032 but the deadline in the final text is 2035, according to diplomats. There will also be a review of the target in 2029.
Reporting by Andrew Gray, Sabine Siebold Lili Bayer; Additional reporting by Ana Cantero, Inti Landauro in Madrid; Editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout
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UK and NATO allies agree to boost spending on defence and related areas to 5% of GDP by 2035
NATO allies agree to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. The new target is in response to the threat posed by Russia. The agreement was reached at a meeting of the alliance’s leaders in The Hague. The UK is the last of the allies to sign up to the new target. It is expected to be ratified by the end of the year.
Ambassadors of all 32 alliance member states signed off on the new spending pledge ahead of a major summit of leaders, including Donald Trump, this week, they said.
The boost – up from a current goal of 2% of GDP – is as much about keeping the US president onside as it is about responding to what is regarded by the allies as a growing threat from Vladimir Putin and the challenge posed by China.
The target will be formally rubber stamped when the heads of state and government meet in The Hague on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The ambitious spending goal – secured following a huge amount of persuasion by Mark Rutte, the NATO secretary general – is broken down into 3.5% of GDP spent on pure defence and 1.5% of GDP spence on related areas, which can include infrastructure and cyber security.
Spain had been the last to agree.
The UK had also been slow to sign up but is understood to have been pushing for the 2035 timeframe, which would mean it is pushed beyond the next parliament.
Sir Keir Starmer has said he has an ambition to increase UK defence spending to 3% of GDP from 2.3% by 2034.
The new 5% spending goal is the kind of level of defence spending invested by NATO allies during the Cold War.
(c) Sky News 2025: UK and NATO allies agree to boost spending on defence and related areas to 5% of GDP by 2035
Spain agrees with NATO to skip 5% defence spending target
Spain agrees not to spend more than 2.1% of its GDP on defence. Spain had the lowest proportion of defence spending in the NATO alliance last year. Spain agreed in April to accelerate efforts to meet NATO’s current target of 2% this year. In a letter sent on Thursday, Sanchez had told NATO chief Mark Rutte his country wanted to opt out.
“A 5% spending would be disproportionate and unnecessary,” Sanchez said in an address on national television.
“We fully respect the legitimate desire of other countries to increase their defence investment, but we are not going to do it,” he said, adding Spain could meet all its commitments to NATO, in terms of staff or equipment, by spending only 2.1% of its GDP.
Diplomats had said earlier on Sunday the 32 countries comprising NATO had agreed on a statement for the upcoming summit setting a goal of 5% of GDP for annual defence and security related by 2035 overcoming Spain’s objection.
In a letter sent on Thursday, Sanchez had told NATO chief Mark Rutte his country wanted to opt out of a new 5% spending target. The letter raised concerns that Spain would derail the whole summit.
At an estimated 1.28% of GDP, Spain had the lowest proportion of expenditure on defence in the alliance last year, according to NATO estimates. Sanchez agreed in April to accelerate efforts to meet NATO’s current target of 2% this year.
(Reporting by Ana Cantero, editing by Inti Landauro)
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NATO agrees Hague summit statement with 5% defence spending goal, diplomats say
NATO countries agree a statement on Sunday for their upcoming summit that sets a goal of 5% of GDP for annual defence and security-related spending by 2035. The statement has the green light from all 32 NATO members, diplomats said, but will only become official when it is approved by leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had blocked an earlier version of the text, saying that committing to a 5% target would be unreasonable and counterproductive.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -NATO countries agreed a statement on Sunday for their upcoming summit that sets a goal of 5% of GDP for annual defence and security-related spending by 2035, overcoming objections from Spain, diplomats said.
The statement has the green light from all 32 NATO members, diplomats said, but will only become official when it is approved by leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump at their summit in The Hague on Wednesday.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had blocked an earlier version of the text, saying that committing to a 5% target would be unreasonable and counterproductive. Spain spent 1.24% of GDP on defence in 2024, according to NATO estimates
Diplomats overcame Sanchez’s objections by adjusting the text on the spending pledge, changing the language from “we commit” to “allies commit”, diplomats said. That allowed Sanchez to claim the commitment would not apply to Spain.
“We fully respect the legitimate desire of other countries to increase their defence investment, but we are not going to do so,” Sanchez said in an address on Spanish television Sunday.
NATO operates by consensus so all of its 32 members have to approve a statement for it to be adopted.
NATO officials argue that big defence spending increases are needed to counter a growing threat from Russia and to allow Europe to take on more responsibility for its own security as the United States shifts its military focus to China.
The alliance’s current defence spending target is 2% of GDP but Trump insisted it should rise to 5% – although he suggested on Friday that target should not apply to the United States.
Under a plan by NATO boss Mark Rutte, countries would reach 5% of GDP by boosting their core defence spending goal from 2% to 3.5% and spending a further 1.5% on related items like adapting roads and bridges for military vehicles and cyber security.
Rutte had originally proposed countries meet the new target by 2032 but the deadline in the final text is 2035, according to diplomats. There will also be a review of the target in 2029.
(Reporting by Andrew Gray, Sabine Siebold Lili Bayer; Additional reporting by Ana Cantero, Inti Landauro in Madrid; Editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout)