NATO members will have agreed to a goal of increasing defense spending to 5% of GDP over the next decade by the NATO summit this June, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on May 15.
The allies are set to gather for an annual summit in The Hague on June 24-25 amid growing uncertainties of the U.S.'s commitment to NATO under U.S. President Donald Trump.
"We are headed for a summit in six weeks in which virtually every member of NATO will be at or above 2%, but more importantly, many of them will be over 4% and all will have agreed on a goal of reaching 5% over the next decade," Rubio said in an interview with Fox News.
Such a move would mark the first time in NATO's history that its members have achieved goals "that will allow NATO partners to be more than 50% of the alliance," he added.
Trump has been a long-time critic of the U.S.'s NATO partners and said he would not defend those that fail to meet defense spending targets, directly challenging the alliance's principle of collective defense.
The U.S. president has accused European countries of failing to contribute their fair share to the alliance's defense needs, and his administration has signaled that its strategic focus is shifting from Europe to the Indo-Pacific region.
NATO members have significantly increased their defense spending since Russia launched its full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022, with countries like Poland and the Baltic nations aiming to reach the 5% target in the coming years.
Martin Fornusek
(Updated: )
