NATO agrees to 5% defence spending target ahead Hague summit
NATO allies have reached a consensus to increase spending on defence to 5% of their countries' GDP by 2035, media reports showed on Sunday.
According to the reports citing diplomatic sources, ambassadors from all 32 NATO member states signed the new spending pledge ahead of its major summit in The Hague on Tuesday and Wednesday.
This week, allies are expected to commit to spending around 3.5 percent of GDP on "hard defence" that will include weapons and troops and an additional 1.5 percent on defence-related investments such as cybersecurity and military mobility.
The 5 per cent pledge has long been championed by US President Donald Trump, but Trump hinted last week that Washington may not follow through, and should not be held to the same standard.
The US currently spends around 3.2 to 3.4 percent of its GDP on defence. Trump cited decades of US financial support to back up his
The Netherlands is hosting the annual meeting of the 32-nation alliance starting Tuesday, 24 June, with leaders scheduled to meet on Wednesday, 25 June.
The heads of government want to hammer out the agreement on a hike in defence that appeared largely done last week, until Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wrote to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that committing Madrid to spending 5% of its gross domestic product on defense 'would not only be unreasonable, but also counterproductive.'
Reports suggest the alliance will make a provision and exception that accommodates Madrid's situation. Around 45 heads of state and government are expected at the summit in the Dutch town for two- day summit.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people protested on Sunday against NATO and military spending. Billed as a demonstration against NATO and the war in Gaza, protesters also denounced Israel and US military actions in Iran, chanting, 'No to war.'
'We are opposed to war. People want to live a peaceful life,' said 74-year-old Hossein Hamadani, an Iranian who lives in the Netherlands. Look at the environment. 'Things are not good. So why do we spend money on war?' he added.
Almost a third of US allies still fall short of NATO's current aim of at least 2% of their gross domestic product, even though defence expenditure has increased since Russian President Vladimir Putin authorised a full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago.
The summit is being guarded by thousands of military and police personnel, drones, no-fly zones, and cybersecurity specialists.
Code-named "Orange Shield," the largest Dutch security operation to date, around 27,000 officers, that is half of the Dutch police force, will be present to provide security for the summit.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
23 minutes ago
- Euronews
Oil rises and Europe's markets open lower after US strikes on Iran
Investors reacted to US strikes on Iran over the weekend as Iran and Israel continued to trade missile fire on Monday morning. The price of Brent crude oil rose around 1.53% to $78.19 a barrel as of around 7.15 CEST, while WTI rose 1.48% to $74.93 a barrel. On Sunday, US forces attacked three Iranian nuclear and military sites, stating that Tehran must not be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon. President of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian said that the country "will never surrender to bullying and oppression", while Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has arrived in Moscow for talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin. European markets opened in the red on Monday as investors digested the news. The FTSE 100 was down 0.28% to 8,749.98, the CAC 40 fell 0.66% to 7,539.68, the DAX slipped 0.55% to 23,222.90, while the FTSE MIB dropped 0.97% to 38,852.55. The STOXX 600 fell 0.28% to 535.03 while the EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.26% to 5,220.02. Over in the US, futures for the S&P 500 slipped 0.13% to 6,010.25 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped 0.2% to 42,431.00. Nasdaq futures fell 0.18% to 21,804.50 on Monday morning. In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.19% to 38,331.12, the Kospi in Seoul dropped 0.3% to 3,012.88, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.37% to 8,474.40. Hong Kong's Hang Seng and the Shanghai Composite Index were in positive territory, with respective gains of 0.35% to 23,611.68 and 0.13% to 3,364.29. The conflict, which flared up after an Israeli attack against Iran on 13 June, has sent oil prices higher linked to Iran's status as a major oil producer. The nation is also located on the narrow Strait of Hormuz, through which much of the world's crude oil passes. Investors are concerned that Tehran might decide to bomb oil infrastructure in neighbouring countries or block tankers from travelling through the Strait of Hormuz. Shipping company Maersk said on Sunday that it was continuing to operate through the strait, adding: "We will continuously monitor the security risk to our specific vessels in the region and are ready to take operational actions as needed." According to vessel tracking data compiled by Bloomberg, two supertankers Coswisdom Lake and South Loyalty U-turned in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday. The situation now hinges on whether Tehran decides to opt for aggression or a more diplomatic response to US and Israeli strikes. Iran could attempt to close the waterway by setting mines across the Strait or striking and seizing vessels. Even so, this would likely be met by a forceful response from the US navy, meaning the oil price spike may not be sustained. Some analysts also think Iran is unlikely to close down the waterway because the country uses it to transport its own crude, mostly to China, and oil is a major revenue source for the regime. If Tehran did successfully close the Strait, this would cause a wider price spike for transported goods and complicate the deflationary process in the US, potentially keeping interest rates higher for longer. On Monday morning, Trump also floated the possibility of regime change in Iran. "If the current Iranian regime is unable to make Iran great again, why wouldn't there be regime change?" said the US president on Truth Social. Vice president J.D. Vance had commented earlier that the administration did not seek regime change in Iran.
LeMonde
25 minutes ago
- LeMonde
Does Iran still have the means to retaliate against the US and Israel?
With Iran pushed into a corner on the military front, a shroud of uncertainty surrounds the Islamic Republic's intentions and capacity to respond to American airstrikes on Monday, June 23. Also unclear was the future of its nuclear program, which is likely intended for military purposes, after key sites suffered heavy blows overnight from Saturday to Sunday. "Monumental damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term," United States President Donald Trump declared on social media on Sunday, referring to the previous day's American airstrikes on the Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan sites. "The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!" Trump added. Showing more caution, General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, said the sites had suffered "extremely severe damage and destruction." Experts, however, said it was impossible at this point to determine the precise extent of the damage the bombings inflicted underground. Nor was it yet possible to know what had become of the stockpile of enriched uranium that Tehran has accumulated: 408 kilograms enriched to 60% in isotope 235, which if further enriched to 90% would be sufficient to produce several nuclear weapons. Iran claims to have placed its stockpile in a secure location.
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
Israeli strike on Tehran jail 'irresponsible': French prisoner's sister
Iran's judiciary said Israeli strikes left sections of the facility damaged and Israel's defence minister confirmed the army was targeting it. Cecile Kohler has been held along with her partner Jacques Paris in Evin since May 2022 on espionage charges their families reject. Overall, Iran is believed to hold around 20 European nationals in what some Western governments describe as a strategy of hostage-taking aimed at extracting concessions from the West. Most are held in Evin, a large, heavily fortified complex notorious among activists for rights abuses. It is located in a northern district of the Iranian capital. "This strike is completely irresponsible. Cecile, Jacques and all the prisoners are in mortal danger," Noemie Kohler told AFP. "This is really the worst thing that could have happened," she added. "We have no news, we don't know if they are still alive, we're panicking," Noemie Kohler said. She urged the French authorities to "condemn these extremely dangerous strikes" and secure the release of the French prisoners. She also expressed concern about the risk of "chaos" and "riots". Noemie Kohler has tirelessly campaigned to secure the release of her sister and her sister's partner Jacques Paris. Chirinne Ardakani, a lawyer for the Kohler family, denounced the strikes as "illegal". "The risk of riots, general confusion and reprisals by the security forces against the insurgent prisoners raises fears of bloodshed," she told AFP. "Both sides are playing with people's lives."
