NATO defense ministers met in Brussels on Thursday but failed to reach a consensus on increasing defense spending to 5% of GDP, highlighting deep divisions within the alliance ahead of the upcoming summit in The Hague later this month.
While there was broad support for boosting military budgets, disagreements over the timeline and how the spending should be allocated revealed stark differences among member states.
Mounting U.S. Pressure
Member states are facing mounting pressure from the United States, which has been pushing for the 5% target since last year. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth emphasized the need for greater commitments. “To be an alliance, you’ve got to be more than flags. You need to keep combat-ready capabilities,” he said upon arrival at the meeting.
He acknowledged ongoing disagreements, saying, “There are a few countries that are not quite there yet… We will get them there.”
Divisions on Timeline and Spending Categories
The most contentious issues revolved around the deadline for reaching the 5% goal and what expenditures would count towards it. Some countries, like Lithuania and Estonia, pushed for an earlier deadline, insisting that delaying until 2032 was too late. Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene called for a 2030 target, while Estonia’s Hanno Pevkur noted that his country would reach 5% by next year.
In contrast, nations such as Spain, Germany, and Belgium raised concerns about the feasibility of the goal, citing budgetary and industrial limitations. For them, meeting the 5% target would be extremely challenging. The United Kingdom and Italy are aiming for a more moderate goal of raising core defense spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035.
New Capability Targets Amid Financial Constraints
Despite financial constraints, defense ministers approved updated NATO capability targets, outlining the military capacities needed to support operational plans and ensure collective defense. Priorities include air and missile defense, long-range strike capabilities, logistics, and large-scale land maneuver forces.
Germany pledged a significant contribution to NATO’s military expansion. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced plans to add 60,000 active-duty troops. “Given Germany’s size and economic strength, we will shoulder a significant part of NATO’s military build-up,” Pistorius said.
However, Germany continues to grapple with personnel shortages. Despite ramped-up recruitment, troop numbers fell further last year, while the average age of soldiers continued to rise.
Economic Challenges Ahead
Across the alliance, economic challenges and tight national budgets present further obstacles to increasing defense spending. The Netherlands estimates it will need to spend an additional 16 to 19 billion euros annually to meet its obligations, according to Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans. Belgium’s Budget Minister Vincent Van Peteghem warned that higher defense expenditures could impact social welfare programs.
“Every euro that’s a deficit today is a euro that will be debt, and that debt will one day be a tax or a cut in the social welfare state,” Van Peteghem told the Financial Times. “Defense definitely requires our full attention, but so does the sustainability of our welfare state.”
With the NATO summit in The Hague approaching on June 24-25, member states must navigate these complex issues to strengthen the alliance’s collective defense amid evolving global security challenges.
