NATO on Thursday said all its members were finally set this year to hit the alliance’s defense spending target of 2 percent of GDP — as they gear up for a far more ambitious goal.
The 32-nation military alliance agreed at a June summit in the Hague to massively hike defense spending over the next decade under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump pushed through a commitment from allies to cough up 5 percent of their GDPs on security-related spending in a move seen as key to keeping him engaged with NATO.
The new target replaces the alliance’s former military spending goal of 2 percent that was first set back in 2014.
NATO said in a statement that all allies were now expected to reach that goal in 2025 and that overall defense spending across the alliance would top $1.5 trillion for the year.
That comes after a group of stragglers — including Spain, Belgium and Italy — hastily announced plans to reach 2 percent ahead of the Hague gathering.
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Author: Faith Novak
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