Boosting NATO spend means upping protection for Ukraine, Kaja Kallas tells Euronews' Europe Today
If NATO member states pledge to increase their defence expenditure to 5% of GDP, that will convert into more assistance for Ukraine, EU High Representative Kaja Kallas told Euronews' morning show Europe Today.
Kallas was asked if the US was diverging from the other NATO members in its approach to Ukraine.
'When member states agreed to spend more on defence, that also means that they have more means to help Ukraine," she told Euronews' Shona Murray, on the ground in the Hague for the NATO summit on Wednesday.
'When it comes to Europe, we have agreed that we will support Ukraine militarily, and we will also put more pressure on Russia so that they would also want peace in order end this war, so it is very clear for us,' she said.
The show included an update on the latest in the Middle East, where a fragile ceasefire remains intact, amid news reports from the US suggesting that US airstrikes on Sunday may not have neutralised Iranian nuclear capacities to the extent touted by the White House.
The show also included exclusive discussion with the foreign ministers of Estonia and Belgium on the NATO 5% GDP target, with both countries adopting contrasting attitudes.
It also included an explainer on the 5% target: what it means in practice.
Watch the full show here.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Hill
26 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump slams intel report, hits Spain at NATO summit
Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here Happy Wednesday! It's another hot day in D.C., so stay hydrated and don't forget your sunscreen!: In today's issue: The White House has spent today disputing several news outlets' reporting that the U.S. strikes against Iran did not decimate the country's nuclear program. If you missed the reporting: CNN, The New York Times and NBC News all cited an internal preliminary classified report that determined Saturday's bombing only set Iran's nuclear program back by a few months, challenging President Trump's assessment that the strikes set the country back years or destroyed it entirely. 💡 Why this matters: Carrying out the strike against Iran was a sophisticated maneuver in foreign policy. Even if the initial report is correct in that it pushed back Iran's nuclear program by just a few months, that's still a win for the White House. But Trump has set the bar incredibly high by suggesting the U.S. strikes decimated Iran's nuclear materials, setting Tehran back by decades. Trump closed out the NATO summit this morning with a wide-ranging press conference but spent much of it pushing back on the reporting. He even equated the Iran strikes to WWII: Trump compared the U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear sites to dropping atomic bombs in Japan near the end of World War II. 'It was so devastating. Actually, if you look at Hiroshima or if you look at Nagasaki, you know, that ended a war, too,' Trump said. 'This ended a war in a different way, but it was so devastating.' ^ Keep in mind that roughly 200,000 people were killed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He also dismissed the report's assessment that Iran moved its nuclear materials before the strike: 'If you knew about that material, it's very hard and very dangerous to move,' Trump said. Earlier this morning, Trump bashed the news outlets as 'scum.' From Trump: 'This was an unbelievable hit by genius pilots and genius people in the military, and they're not being given credit for it because we have scum that's in this room. And not all of you are … CNN is scum. MSDNC is scum. The New York Times is scum. They're bad people. They're sick,' Trump said. 'And what they've done is they're trying to make this unbelievable victory into something less.' 📹 Watch Trump vent about the reporting His team publicly backed him up: The president's national security team strongly disagreed with the reporting on the initial internal assessment. ➤ Vice President Vance posted a scathing critique of American media, arguing it is 'full of the least curious, least insightful people in our country.' 🔎 Read Vance's criticism ➤ Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued to Politico that Iran is now 'much further away from a nuclear weapon.' ➤ Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says there is an investigation into how the report was leaked. During Trump's NATO news conference, Hegseth stepped up to the microphone and accused the media of trying 'to find a way to spin it for their own political reasons to try to hurt President Trump or our country.' ^ Oh, by the way. Trump referred to Hegseth as 'Secretary of War,' noting the position used to be called that. 'We feel like warriors,' Trump said. 📹 Watch For what it's worth: An Iran Foreign Ministry spokesperson says that Saturday's bombing 'badly damaged' its nuclear installations. Keep in mind: The report's conclusion could easily change — it is an early assessment, after all. Without any inspections on the ground, it's hard to know how successful the strikes were. Here's a helpful Brookings Institution explainer on measuring the strike's success. President Trump wrapped the NATO summit with a press conference. While that Iran report was on the top of his mind, he had plenty of other matters to discuss. 🗨️ Follow today's live blog ➤ TIDBIT — UH, NO COMMENT: NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte referred to Trump as 'Daddy' this morning after the president used harsh language to bash Israel and Iran for continuing strikes despite a fragile ceasefire agreement. 📹 Watch— it's around the one-minute mark. Cuomo bested in NYC primary: Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) conceded to 33-year old New York State Assembly member Zohran Mamdani (D) on Tuesday night in the city's mayoral primary, delivering an absolute stunner. Nearly every poll consistently showed Cuomo in the lead, despite Mamdani closing the gap in several surveys. Cuomo also had a stacked list of Democratic endorsements, including former President Clinton and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Meanwhile, Mamdani landed a few high-profile progressive endorsements — like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — but was still considered an underdog against the New York powerhouse. Votes are still being tallied, but Cuomo didn't wait to concede, telling supporters 'tonight was Assemblyman Mamdani's night.' Why this matters: Democrats have struggled to find their footing while trying to repair their damaged image after the 2024 elections. Mamdani is a democratic socialist and ran as an anti-establishment Democrat. He called for free buses, free childcare, a rent freeze and tax increase on wealthy taxpayers. What to know about Mamdani His win is notable because progressives have had some big losses over the last year, including several high-profile progressives, like former Reps. Cory Bush (D-Mo.) and Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) losing their primaries. 📝Five takeaways Related, via The New York Times: 'Why Ranked-Choice Voting Could Have a Pivotal Effect on the Mayor's Race' ➤ TIDBITS: 📹 Wow: Watch Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) react to Cuomo's loss. He railed on Cuomo. 📹 Watch the clip There was an ~outlier~ poll predicting this outcome: The Economist's Mike Bird posted a screenshot of 'the single best poll for Zohran in the run-up to the election, discounted as a wild outlier at the time, undershot his actual first-round percentage of the vote by about eight percentage points.' The House and Senate are in. President Trump has left the Netherlands. (All times EST) This afternoon: Trump leaves the Netherlands and returns to Washington. 4:15 p.m.: Two Senate votes. 📆Today's agenda 4:15 p.m.: First and last House votes. 📆Today's agenda 🍓 Celebrate: Today is National Strawberry Parfait Day. 🥤 Tbh, the Dubai chocolate craze is not overhyped: Shake Shack is leaning into the craze over the combination of pistachio, toasted kataifi shredded phyllo and chocolate. It has created a shake with those flavors. 🎸 I would simply faint: Taylor Swift made a surprise appearance at a charity concert in Nashville. 📹 Watch Because you made it this far: If you aren't craving a mozzarella stick already, this record-breaking cheese pull will surely change that.


Bloomberg
27 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Italy's Serie A Considers Stake Sale in Overseas Media Rights
Italy's top football league is exploring selling a stake in its international media rights business, according to people familiar with the matter. Serie A has reached out to private equity firms to assess their interest, said the people, who asked not to be identified. The discussions are at an early stage and there's no guarantee of a transaction, the people said.


Fox News
27 minutes ago
- Fox News
Rubio cracks up at Trump's reaction to NATO leader calling president 'daddy'
Secretary of State Marco Rubio cracked up laughing when President Donald Trump gave his reaction to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte calling the commander in chief "daddy" earlier Wednesday. During their bilateral meeting in The Hague, Netherlands, Trump discussed the U.S.' role in brokering a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran, saying both countries were like "two kids in a school yard" who "fight like hell" for a short time before "it's easier to stop them." Rutte interjected, "Then daddy has to sometimes use strong language." Trump had used profanity in front of reporters outside the White House before boarding Marine One on Tuesday, saying about Israel and Iran that they "have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the f--- they're doing. " At a subsequent press conference Wednesday, Rubio broke into hysterics when a reporter from Sky News asked Trump about the remark. The reporter reminded Trump that Rutte, "who is your friend.… He called you daddy." "Do you regard your NATO allies as kind of children?" the reporter asked. Trump responded lightheartedly, and Rubio could be seen standing next to him starting to smile and laugh. "No, he likes me. I think he likes me. If he doesn't, I'll let you know. I'll come back, and I'll hit him hard. Okay?" Trump said jokingly. "He did. He did it. Very affectionate," Trump added of Rutte. "'Daddy, You're my daddy.'" The reporter pressed on with a more serious tone, as Rubio continued to laugh. "Do you regard your NATO allies, though, as kind of like children?" she said. NATO leaders on Wednesday committed that the member states would contribute 5% of GDP annually to defense and security obligations by 2035. "You're obviously appreciative of that," the reporter said. "But do you hope that actually they're going to be able to defend themselves, defend Europe on their own?" "I think they'll need help a little bit at the beginning, and I think they'll be able to," Trump said. "I think they're going to remember this day and this is a big day for NATO. You know, this was a very big day." "It's been sort of an amazing day for a lot of reasons, but also for that," Trump added, referencing how the greater contributions were decades in the making. Trump claimed it was not possible until he came along. The reporter pressed, "Do you think they can do it without you, though in the future? Can they do more states?" "I mean, you have to ask Mark," Trump said, concluding the press conference. The president had noted earlier that the only NATO member that did not agree to hike its defense contribution was Spain.