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Trump in focus: NATO summit could blow up defense spending!
Trump is traveling to the NATO summit in The Hague on June 24th and 25th. Discuss possible increases in defense spending.
Trump in focus: NATO summit could blow up defense spending!
US President Donald Trump will attend the NATO summit in The Hague on June 24 and 25, 2025, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt confirmed oe24. The summit comes at a critical time as NATO leaders could discuss increasing defense spending to five percent of economic output. This proposal represented a significant increase compared to the current target of two percent, which has been binding since 2014.
Pressure on NATO to increase spending has grown in recent years, particularly in the context of Russia's attack on Ukraine and the associated changing security situation in Europe daily news. Currently, NATO countries plan to spend around 2.71% of their GDP on defense in 2024, totaling about $1.5 trillion.
Expectations and discussions
There is now a certain consensus that the two percent target set by NATO is no longer sufficient in the current geopolitical situation. The planned new defense spending target of 3.5 percent should also be discussed. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has already developed plans to keep Trump happy and secure US membership in the alliance.
Financial challenges
An increase to five percent would require an increase of hundreds of billions of euros, which many experts see as problematic daily news. The Russian attack on Ukraine has also changed the threat landscape and increased the need to invest in heavy land forces. So far in 2022, only 23 of the 32 NATO countries have achieved the two percent target, while no country has exceeded five percent.
Poland with 4.1 percent, Estonia with 3.5 percent and the USA with 3.4 percent were the leaders in defense spending South German. Experts are skeptical as to whether the arms industry and the European armies could invest these additional resources sensibly.
So the discussion about adjusting spending is well underway and will certainly play a central role at the upcoming NATO summit, as Trump and European leaders try to find a common course.