NATO Countries Projected to Reach 2% Defense Budget Equivalent by 2025, According to Rutte's Statement.
Get ready for some serious defense spending increases across the board!
The NATO crew is gearing up to make Donald Trump proud—or at least content—as every single one of the 32 member nations is now preparing to reach the alliance's 2% GDP defense spending goal by 2025. This significant shift comes after years of flak from the former U.S. president for countries not meeting their pledged contributions. Trump even floated the idea of raising the threshold to a whopping 5% of GDP.
"Fantastic news," cheered NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, commending announcements from Canada and Portugal, the final two holdouts. Apparently, Canada was convinced to hit the 2% mark this year, impressing Rutte no end.
Things have come a long way since 2024, when only 23 members managed to hit the 2% target, according to NATO estimates. Poland led the pack with an impressive 4.12% of GDP dedicated to defense, followed closely by Estonia (3.43%) and the United States (3.38%).
The upcoming June 24-25 NATO summit in The Hague has been scaled back to focus solely on defense spending and alliance capabilities, with the aim of avoiding friction with Trump, whose commitment to attend remains uncertain.
Ukraine has received an invitation to the summit, but President Volodymyr Zelensky may reconsider his attendance due to uncertainty over the U.S. delegation. Some sources suggest Zelensky may question the value of attending without a confirmed meeting with Trump.
Many NATO members justify accelerating defense spending due to Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine and the isolationist rhetoric from Trump. While Trump may be out of office now, his influence on NATO remains apparent as member countries continue to beef up their defense budgets.
Sources:
- NATO discussion paper on defense spending
- Article from Ansa news outlet on the NATO summit
- Research article on global defense spending trends
- The Guardian report on Zelensky's consideration to skip NATO summit
Policy-and-legislation discussions within NATO are intensifying, with the focus on defense spending increases, spurred by Trump's persistent critique of countries not meeting their defense pledges. Thispolitics-driven shift has led to a wave of general-news headlines covering the alliance's efforts to reach the 2% GDP defense spending goal by 2025.
