NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has proposed a new compromise model for increasing member countries' defense spending that would meet US President Donald Trump's insistence on 5% of GDP, without requiring direct implementation of this requirement. This was reported by the ‚Reuters" agency, citing sources familiar with the discussions.
The proposal envisages that Alliance countries allocate 3.5% of their GDP for direct military spending and an additional 1.5% for broader security-related spending, such as investments in infrastructure, logistics and resilience. This would bring the total to 5%, which could allow President Trump to declare victory at the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague in June.
According to diplomatic sources, the idea is intended to appease the White House without putting European countries and Canada in the awkward position of making a direct commitment to military spending at levels that many consider economically and politically unfeasible.
NATO's current goal is for each member country to allocate at least 2% of GDP to defense - a requirement that 22 of the alliance's 32 members currently meet. But with the ongoing war in Ukraine and rising tensions with Russia, many leaders see this threshold as outdated and insufficient.
There is no agreement yet on what exactly would be included in the expanded definition of "security", but sources said it could include spending on upgrading roads, bridges and rail infrastructure to allow for faster movement of heavy military equipment.
NATO spokeswoman Alison Hart did not specifically confirm whether Rutte had put forward this proposal, but said he had "repeatedly stated the need to increase defense spending to achieve the Alliance's common goals and ensure a fairer burden-sharing among allies.
"This is likely to include not only higher military investment by NATO standards, but also additional investment in related areas such as infrastructure and resilience," she added. it.
The topic is expected to be central to the agenda of the meeting in The Hague, which could become a key moment for the future structure and solidarity of the transatlantic alliance.