President Donald Trump scored a major foreign policy win Wednesday as NATO leaders agreed to adopt a bold new defense spending target—5% of GDP by 2035—cementing Trump’s long-standing demand that allies stop freeloading off American military protection and finally invest in their own security.
The agreement, supported by nearly all member nations except Spain and possibly Slovakia, marks a dramatic shift in NATO’s posture. The current goal of 2% has long been ignored by many European nations, much to Trump’s public frustration. Now, under mounting geopolitical pressure and Trump’s leadership, the alliance is committing to more than double that target.
The new framework includes 3.5% for traditional military expenditures—such as air defense systems, troop readiness, and weapons modernization—and 1.5% for dual-use infrastructure like bridges and roads that could support military operations.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte praised the shift, saying, “There is absolute conviction… that, given this threat from the Russians, given the international security situation, there is no alternative.”
Finnish President Alexander Stubb called the decision “the birth of a new NATO,” saying it represented “a more balanced NATO and a NATO which has more European responsibility.”
Not everyone was on board. Spain flatly rejected the increase, with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez claiming his country could fulfill its NATO obligations while continuing to spend far less. Spain’s military spending currently sits at just 1.28% of GDP—the lowest in the alliance.
“We fully respect the legitimate desire of other countries to increase their defense investment, but we are not going to do it,” Sánchez said.
Slovakia also appears reluctant to join the pledge. Prime Minister Robert Fico declared that “other priorities” would take precedence over increased defense spending.
The response from other NATO members was swift and critical. Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister W?adys?aw Kosiniak-Kamysz, whose nation already leads the alliance in military spending, blasted Spain’s defiance: “Any deviation from this principle by any member country is a bad example.”
One NATO official put it bluntly: “It’s incredibly unfair to the alliance.”
Trump, who has demanded this kind of reform since his first term, plans to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky following the summit. While Zelensky was present for a pre-summit dinner, he was not invited to Wednesday’s main session—another sign of shifting dynamics within the alliance.
The 5% target, once considered impossible, now stands as a testament to Trump’s relentless pressure campaign and a reawakening of NATO’s collective responsibility.
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