NATO allies agree to boost military budgets after Trump pressure
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, US President Donald Trump, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Netherlands' Prime Minister Dick Schoof attend the North Atlantic Council plenary meeting at the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) summit in The Hague on June 25, 2025. Photo: AFP
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US President Donald Trump took a victory lap at NATO's Hague summit Wednesday, joining leaders in reaffirming the "ironclad" commitment to protect each other after allies agreed to his demand to ramp up defence spending.
The unpredictable US leader appeared keen to take the plaudits as he secured a key foreign policy win by getting NATO's 32 countries to agree to meet his headline target of five percent of GDP on defence spending.
In a move that will provide reassurance to allies in Europe worried over the threat from Russia, Trump signed off on a final leaders' declaration confirming "our ironclad commitment" to NATO's collective defence pledge that an attack on one is an attack on all.
🆕 NATO Allies have agreed to invest 5% of their GDP annually in defence.
A substantial commitment in response to significant threats to our security#NATOsummit pic.twitter.com/eFgwH3pfrR — NATO (@NATO) June 25, 2025
"It's a great victory for everybody, I think, and we will be equalised," Trump said of the new spending commitment, ahead of the summit's main session.
Diplomats said that behind closed doors Trump insisted there was no greater ally than Washington and urged others to spend some of the new money on US weaponry.
Read More: Trump casts doubt on mutual defence
The deal hatched by NATO is a compromise that allows Trump to claim triumph, while in reality providing wiggle room for cash-strapped governments in Europe.
It sees countries promise to dedicate 3.5 percent of GDP to core military spending by 2035, and a further 1.5 to broader security-related areas such as infrastructure.
Entering the meeting, leaders lined up to declare the summit's spending hike as "historic".
📸 Leaders gather for a family photo at the #NATOsummit in The Hague 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/3Ky9lzlIQ7 — NATO Spokesperson (@NATOpress) June 25, 2025
NATO allies say the increase is needed to counter a growing threat from Russia but also to keep Trump engaged, with the US leader long complaining that Europe spends too little on its own defence.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said: "As Europeans, we should realise that our long break from history is over."
The continent needed to take responsibility for its own security "in a very difficult time", added De Wever.
(Front row from 5L) Netherlands' Prime Minister Dick Schoof, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, US President Donald Trump, Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose NATO country leaders for a family photo during the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Heads of State and Government summit in The Hague, on June 25, 2025. NATO leaders hold a two-day summit on June 24 and 25 in The Hague. Photo: AFP
Everything was carefully choreographed at the gathering in The Hague to keep the volatile US president on board: from chopping back the official part of the meeting to putting him up overnight in the royal palace.
Trump rattled his allies by appearing to cast some doubt on the validity of NATO's mutual defence clause -- known as Article Five of the alliance treaty -- telling reporters on the way to The Hague that it "depends on your definition. There's numerous definitions of Article Five."
But Rutte insisted Trump remained "totally committed" to the pledge -- which was reaffirmed unequivocally in the summit's final statement.
Underpinning the leaders' discussions on defence was Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, and in another sop to the demands of allies the United States allowed NATO to refer to the "long-term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security" in the communique.
🗓️ TODAY: 32 NATO Leaders are meeting in The Hague, where they will demonstrate NATO's unity and resolve to keep our one billion people safe.
Follow @SecGenNATO, @DepSecGenNATO, @NATOpress and @NATO for the latest #NATOsummit updates
More information ⤵️ — NATO (@NATO) June 25, 2025
Though its language was watered down from previous years, the declaration also said allies would continue to support Ukraine "whose security contributes to ours" and could use money from the new spending pledge to fund military aid for Kyiv.
That came as Trump was poised to meet the war-torn country's president Volodymyr Zelensky on the summit sidelines.
Zelensky is playing a less central role here than at previous summits, to avoid a bust-up with Trump after their infamous Oval Office shouting match.
Also Read: Zelenskyy says Ukraine invited to NATO summit in The Hague
But Trump described him as a "nice guy" and added that he was talking to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the war, saying: "I think progress is being made."
But despite Rutte's insistence that Ukraine's bid for membership remains "irreversible", NATO's statement avoided any mention of Kyiv's push to join after Trump ruled it out.
Hungary's Kremlin-friendly Prime Minister Viktor Orban was more categorical. "NATO has no business in Ukraine," he said. "My job is to keep it as it is."
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