NATO leaders say era of 2% defense spending ‘maybe history’ as Trump reportedly pushes 5% target

A group of four NATO leaders and a representative of the European Union on Sunday agreed that it is time to invest more in defense spending as Russia remains Europe’s biggest security threat amid the war in Ukraine, and as Western leaders scramble for revenue. The Trump administration.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the time to spend 2% of the country’s GDP on defense is “probably history” but he, along with four other leaders present at the North-South Summit in Lapland, Finland could not say that. the figure should be visible.

“We know we need to spend more than 2%,” said Mitsotakis. “But it will be very clear… once we have contacted the new president, what figure we will agree on within NATO.”

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The conference was called by the Prime Minister of Finland, Petteri Orpo, and was attended by the Prime Minister of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson, the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgio Meloni, and the head of the European Union’s foreign policy, Kaja Kallas.

The leaders were asked about a recent Financial Times report that says President-elect Donald Trump intends to push NATO to increase its defense spending requirement from 2% to 5% – a requirement that would require all nations, including the US to spend. more than 3% of its GDP, to significantly increase defense spending.

Trump’s transition team did not respond to questions from Fox News Digital about whether Trump would push all NATO nations, including the US, to significantly increase defense spending.

Instead, a spokesperson for Trump’s transition team said, “President Trump believes that European countries should meet their NATO defense obligations and increase their share of the burden of this conflict, since the US has paid too much, which is unfair to us. The taxpayers. He will do what is necessary to restore peace and rebuild America’s power and deterrence in the world.”

Fox News Digital was also unable to clarify whether the increase in defense spending would be supported by GOP lawmakers given the large number of conservatives in Congress, and his Vice President-elect, who have called for an end to US aid to Ukraine, as well as the internal fighting of the week. passed in the House among Republican lawmakers over the money disagreement.

Even as NATO leaders at the North-South Summit agreed that Russia is “the biggest threat to Europe,” they urged caution when talking about “rumors” about the incoming Trump administration.

President Donald Trump speaks as he meets with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte during the NATO summit at The Grove, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019, Watford, England. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

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“I can wait to understand what the will of the new American president really is,” Meloni said, according to a Bloomberg report. “In NATO, we all know and understand that we have to do more. Much of what we can do depends on the tools we can put on the table.”

The prime minister of Finland spoke in the same way and said, “Europe must be more responsible for its security. This means that European countries must be strong leaders, both in the EU and in NATO.

“[Russia] he is trying to consolidate power and sow discord in Europe. The geopolitical situation is very difficult in the Middle East and North Africa, for example, “said Orpo, according to Euro News.

Kristersson said spending more on defense is important, in part, for European countries to rely less on the US as the “main sponsor” of the defense alliance, but also to show Washington that European countries take defense “seriously.”

“European countries – individually, many of us, and together – need to strengthen our defense. And let’s do that,” he said.

Soldiers of Ukraine’s 93rd Mechanized Brigade fire French MO-120-RT mortars at Russian troops on the front line near the town of Bakhmut in Ukraine’s Donetsk region on Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (Iryna Rybakova via AP)

Trump during his first administration forced NATO leaders to meet their promise to spend 2% on defense, which many did – to increase the number of partners to meet the terms of the NATO agreement from five in 2016 to nine in 2020.

But that number drops to just six when Trump is gone in 2021.

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However, by 2022, NATO leaders had begun reassessing their defense budget following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and by 2024, a historic number of NATO allies had met their spending commitments, 23 of them 32 use at least 2%. of their GDP in defense.

Only Poland spends more than 4% of its GDP on defense, while four countries spend more than 3%, including Estonia, the US, Latvia and Greece.

Croatia, Portugal, Italy, Canada, Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovenia and Spain have not met their defense spending commitments.