President Donald Trump speaks during a media conference at the end of the NATO summit as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, right, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listen, in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025.
Alex Brandon/AP Photo
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Alex Brandon/AP Photo
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The NATO summit in the Netherlands on Wednesday has been hailed as “transformational” and “historic.” Finland’s President Alexander Stubb described it as the “birth of a new NATO.”
The 32 members of the world’s biggest security organization have agreed to a plan to significantly increase defense spending, aiming to reach Cold War-era defense expenditure levels. This decision, driven by U.S. President Donald Trump and concerns about the security threat from Russia, will require European members and Canada to increase their defense budgets to 3.5% of GDP by 2035.
The allies will also allocate 1.5% of their GDP to upgrade infrastructure needed for military deployment and can include weapons supplied to Ukraine in the defense spending calculation. Progress will be reviewed in 2029.
While most allies have agreed to the new spending targets, some countries like Spain, Slovakia, Belgium, France, and Italy may face challenges in meeting them.
