Summary

All 32 NATO member states achieved the defense spending target of 2 percent of gross domestic product in 2025 for the first time. European military spending increased by 19.6 percent – the highest increase since the target was introduced in 2014. Countries such as Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia are investing significantly above the new target value of 5 percent by 2035. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte described the development as a "genuine change in mentality." At the same time, US President Trump is intensifying pressure on European partners and criticizing them as "cowards" for insufficient support in securing the Strait of Hormuz.

People

Topics

  • NATO defense spending
  • European security policy
  • US-Europe relations
  • Russian threat

Clarus Lead

The unprecedented agreement on increased defense budgets reveals a strategic paradox: while Europe finally stands united behind the NATO target, the transatlantic alliance threatens to break apart over Washington's growing discontent. Trump's demand for 5-percent spending by 2035 and his public denigration of European alliance partners signal that financial commitments alone are insufficient – what is demanded is a redistribution of strategic responsibility, particularly in protecting global trade routes outside Europe. Rutte's diplomatic appeasement suggests an attempt to mediate between European autonomy and American expectations.

Detailed Summary

The origin of the two-percent target lies in Russia's annexation of Crimea in March 2014. At the NATO summit in Wales in September 2014, 28 member states at that time formally committed to spending 2 percent of GDP on defense within a decade. Only the United States, Great Britain, and Greece met this criterion at the time. Eleven years later, following Russia's full-scale attack on Ukraine in 2022, the situation has fundamentally changed.

The NATO Annual Report 2025 documents an unprecedented mobilization: all 32 states (including Finland and Sweden) reach the two-percent mark. Belgium, Canada, Albania, Spain, and Portugal are exactly at 2 percent; Italy, Czechia, Slovenia, and France just above. The absolute increase is dramatic: European NATO countries and Canada increased their spending by 19.6 percent in 2025 – following already substantial increases in 2024. Geographically, a clear pattern emerges: countries bordering Russia (Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia) already meet or exceed the new target value of 5 percent (of which 3.5 percent for strict defense), agreed at the NATO summit in June 2025 with a target date of 2035. Hungary and Slovakia are exceptions with significantly lower spending.

Paradox of the figures: while Europeans are dramatically increasing spending, the United States reduced its defense spending slightly in 2025. Nevertheless, the US continues to invest roughly 45 percent more than all other NATO partners combined (838 vs. 574 billion dollars). In absolute figures, the alliance reaches record levels; relative to economic power, the defense spending ratio was higher during the Cold War. Trump's public criticism – Europeans as "cowards" in the context of Strait of Hormuz security – is directed at the reluctance to assume responsibility outside the European theater. Discussions led by France involving approximately three dozen states about operations in the Persian Gulf have so far failed due to the precondition of a ceasefire in the Middle East conflict, which is not foreseeable.

Key Points

  • All 32 NATO states fulfill the two-percent target in 2025 for the first time; pressure from Russia's Ukraine war and Trump's demands proves motivating.
  • European defense spending increases by 19.6 percent – the highest annual increase measured since the target's introduction in 2014.
  • The transatlantic relationship remains strained: Trump's criticism suggests that European defense investments without global security responsibility are insufficient for Washington.
  • Eastern European countries (Poland, Baltic states) drive military spending above 5 percent; Hungary and Slovakia remain restrained.

Critical Questions

  1. Data Quality: To what extent are defense spending figures reported in the NATO Annual Report defined according to uniform criteria, and what statistical room for maneuver exists in the recording of "defense budgets" in individual countries?

  2. Causality: Is the increase in defense spending actually caused by Russia's Ukraine aggression, or do domestic political factors (elections, military-industrial interests) play an equally significant role?

  3. Conflicts of Interest: What role do defense industry lobbies and national armament objectives play in setting the new 5-percent target, and were voices advocating alternative security strategies heard?

  4. Feasibility: Can Eastern European countries sustainably finance the targeted 5-percent spending quotas by 2035 without jeopardizing their social or infrastructure budgets, and how is implementation monitored?

  5. Alternative Hypotheses: Could the increase be explained by inflation-related price effects in military goods rather than as real growth in military capacity?

  6. Trump Strategy: Are Trump's verbal attacks ("cowards") means of enforcing a new requirements profile, or do they signal a deeper erosion of the NATO concept?

  7. Strait of Hormuz: How realistic is a European military operation in the Persian Gulf without prior Middle East peace, and what objectives would such an operation have?

Source Directory

Primary Source: NATO Chief Rutte Pleased About Defense Spending Record – and Smiles Away Trump Calling Europeans "Cowards" – Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 28.03.2026 https://www.nzz.ch/international/nato-chef-rutte-freut-sich-ueber-den-rekord-bei-den-verteidigungsausgaben-und-laechelt-weg-dass-trump-europaeer-feiglinge-nennt-ld.1931357

Supplementary Sources:

  • NATO Annual Report 2025 (referenced in article)
  • NATO Summit June 2025 (5-percent target agreement)

Verification Status: ✓ 28.03.2026

This text was created with the support of an AI model. Editorial Responsibility: clarus.news | Fact-Checking: 28.03.2026