NATO sees sharp increase in Europe and Canada’s defence spending
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NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte urged NATO members to keep up the momentum in defence spending.
PHOTO: REUTERS
BRUSSELS - NATO’s European allies and Canada increased defence spending by 20 per cent in 2025 compared to the previous year in real terms, alliance chief Mark Rutte said in his annual report published on March 26, urging NATO members to keep up the momentum.
“I expect Allies at the next NATO Summit in Ankara to show they are on a clear and credible path towards the 5 per cent objective,” he wrote, adding that “a strong transatlantic bond remains essential in an age of global uncertainty”.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly demanded that NATO partners significantly boost defence expenditures, as the US administration maintains that European allies should ultimately assume primary responsibility for the conventional defence of the continent.
Mr Trump criticised NATO allies on March 26, writing in a Truth Social post that NATO countries have done “absolutely nothing” to help with Iran.
“THE USA NEEDS NOTHING FROM NATO, BUT “NEVER FORGET” THIS VERY IMPORTANT POINT IN TIME!” he wrote.
In his annual report, Mr Rutte said that in 2025, “all Allies reported defence expenditure figures that met or went beyond the 2 per cent target first set in 2014, with many making steep increases in spending”.
NATO leaders agreed at a summit in 2025 to spend 5 per cent of gross domestic product on defence and related investments by 2035.
Countries pledged to spend 3.5 per cent of GDP on core defence – such as troops and weapons – and 1.5 per cent on broader defence-related measures such as cyber security, protecting pipelines and adapting roads and bridges to handle heavy military vehicles.
Three NATO countries – Poland, Lithuania and Latvia – already exceeded the new 3.5 per cent target in 2025, according to the report’s estimates.
Several countries including Spain, Canada and Belgium, were at 2 per cent.
In total, the alliance of 32 member countries spent 2.77 per cent of GDP on defence in 2025.
The United States accounted for around 60 per cent of alliance defence expenditure in 2025. REUTERS
