The Voice News: demBrussels: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has proposed a significant increase in defence spending by alliance members, calling for them to allocate 5% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) towards defence. The move is widely seen as an effort to address longstanding criticisms from former U.S. President Donald Trump, who accused European allies of underfunding their militaries and relying excessively on American support.
During his first term in 2016, Trump openly berated NATO members for failing to meet the alliance’s 2% GDP defence spending target. Seeking to avoid a repeat of such tensions at the upcoming NATO summit, Rutte has suggested a new benchmark that far exceeds previous commitments.
According to Rutte’s proposal, the 5% defence budget would be split into:
3.5% for core military spending, and
1.5% for broader defence-related expenditures, including infrastructure and defence industrial development.
This flexible framework is designed to accommodate countries with varying economic capacities and existing military commitments. The United States, already spending 3.4% of its GDP on defence, is expected to back the proposal with ease.
However, the implementation of this ambitious plan remains uncertain. No formal timeline has been announced, though estimates suggest a 10-year horizon for full compliance. Furthermore, NATO currently lacks enforcement mechanisms to penalize member states that fail to meet their targets — an issue that has plagued the 2% goal established more than a decade ago.
To ensure accountability, Rutte said he will require annual national spending plans from NATO members. These will outline year-by-year increases, helping to prevent sudden budget spikes toward the end of the target period — what he termed a “hockey stick” effect.
Rutte is expected to visit UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer next week to discuss the matter. The UK has pledged to raise its defence spending to 2.5% by 2027, with an aspiration to reach 3% in the following term — still notably short of the proposed 5%.
Meanwhile, U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed that several countries — including France, Germany, the Baltic and Nordic nations, Poland, Greece, and Hungary — have already agreed to the 5% target. He expressed optimism that all NATO members, including the UK, will eventually align with the proposal.
The new initiative marks a bold shift in NATO’s defence posture, potentially reshaping transatlantic relations and military readiness amid rising global tensions and increasing demands for strategic autonomy among European states.