On Wednesday, June 25th, at a NATO summit held in The Hague, Netherlands, NATO leaders unanimously agreed to significantly increase defense spending and reiterated their commitment to collective defense as outlined in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, which states “an attack on one is an attack on all.” This meeting is seen as tailored for U.S. President Trump to address his long-standing dissatisfaction with allies’ insufficient defense burden sharing.
The statement released after the meeting highlighted that NATO countries have agreed to increase defense spending, with the goal of reaching 5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2035. This commitment not only responds to Trump’s demands for his second term but also reflects growing concerns in Europe over increased security threats following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“We reaffirm our strong commitment to collective defense, which is the core spirit of Article 5 of the Washington Treaty – an attack on one is an attack on all,” the statement read. Trump had previously raised concerns among allies by suggesting multiple interpretations of Article 5, but he later dispelled any doubts.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte stated on Tuesday morning at The Hague summit, “President Trump and senior U.S. leadership have made full commitments to NATO.”
When asked about his support for Article 5 of the NATO treaty on his way to the summit, Trump’s statement was not clear. When asked to clarify on Wednesday, Trump stated that he supports the basic commitment of NATO: an attack on one member is an attack on all members.
“I support it, that’s why I’m here,” Trump said during a meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Rutte. “If I didn’t support it, I wouldn’t be here.”
Currently, NATO has 32 member countries, and allies will reduce their reliance on the U.S. by increasing their own defense spending, as advocated by Trump. NATO Secretary-General and former Dutch Prime Minister Rutte admitted that raising additional funds is not easy for European countries and Canada, but due to the circumstances, they must take responsibility.
Rutte stated in The Hague, his hometown, “Considering the threat from Russia and the current international security situation, all colleagues present agree that we have no other choice.”
The new spending target will be implemented in phases over the next 10 years, with an annual total exceeding the current 2% goal by billions of dollars. 3.5% of GDP will be allocated to “core defense” spending, such as military forces and equipment, while the remaining 1.5% will be devoted to “broad defense” areas like cyber security, pipeline protection, infrastructure adaptation for military use, and so on.
All NATO member countries have signed onto this new target statement, with Spain claiming it can fulfill its obligations without meeting the benchmark and will achieve commitments through lower spending. Although Rutte objected to this, a diplomatic compromise was reached with Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez to avoid disrupting the summit. The Spanish government emphasized that its position will not have any subsequent impact.
Wednesday’s summit focused solely on defense spending commitments, but NATO pledged long-term support for Ukraine, emphasizing that “Ukraine’s security contributes to our security.”
The 2024 NATO summit declaration explicitly stated that Ukraine’s future lies with NATO, but this wording is now completely set aside.
Hungarian Prime Minister Orban dampened the atmosphere of internal unity in NATO. He told reporters that NATO “should not interfere in Ukrainian affairs” and claimed that Russia “does not pose a real threat to NATO.”
Ukrainian President Zelenskiy was only invited to the summit’s dinner the night before on Tuesday and did not participate in the main meeting on Wednesday but is expected to meet separately with Trump.
The Kremlin criticized NATO’s ongoing militarization and attempts to portray Russia as a “demon from hell” to justify significant increases in its defense spending.