NATO summit: Dispute over defense spending-five percent in sight?

NATO summit: Dispute over defense spending-five percent in sight?

Brüssel, Belgien - On June 5, 2025, the NATO defense ministers in Brussels meet to make decisive preparations for a comprehensive upgrade program to secure the eastern border. The aim of the talks is to define implementable common goals for the military upgrade, which are to be adopted at the upcoming NATO summit in the Hague. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte emphasizes NATO's strength as the most powerful defense alliance and makes a comparison with the Roman Empire, but leaves out the collapse of this empire.

A central topic of the meeting is the discussion about a potential increase in defense spending to five percent of gross domestic product (GDP). This demand was loud under the influence of Donald Trump, who already asked NATO countries in his first term to reach the two percent goal. In recent years, the pressure to increase expenditure in European countries, especially because of the war in Ukraine, has increased.

discussion about defense spending and Trump's influence

While some NATO countries are already investing significant amounts in defense-Poland spend 4.12 percent and Estonia 3.43 percent of their GDP, the United States is investing 3.38 percent-Germany is currently 2.12 percent. These figures are the result of the two percent goal in 2014 in Wales and in 2023 in Lithuania, which has not yet been permanently planned by many member states. Some European NATO partners, such as the Czech Prime Minister Fiala, are open to increases to up to three percent.

Trump’s current demand to increase expenses to five percent, but encounters resistance in Germany, where Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius priorizes another discussion about what is necessary. He emphasizes that concrete military skills for deterrence, such as modern weapon systems and air defense, should be in the foreground.

challenges and financial effects

The implementation of Trump's demand would have a massive impact on the German federal budget. According to estimates, Germany would have to provide defense spending on a future GDP of 4,400 billion euros over 200 billion euros. However, the planned defense budget for 2025 is currently only 53.3 billion euros, and total expenses are currently around 90.6 billion euros.

In order to revitalize the discussion, it is important that European countries also strengthen their own defense skills, regardless of the United States. The backbone of NATO is the independent decisions of their member states regarding defense spending, but some strive to better coordinate to increase efficiency. Security expert Ulrich Kühn warns to use the funds sensibly, especially in view of the complexity of the procurement of weapon systems that can also bring uncertainties from US policy.

The discussion about the increase in NATO expenditure remains intense and complex, especially in the context of the changed geopolitical threats in Europe. The aim is that the Member States act strategically and strengthen their defense together to be up to the current challenges.

For more detailed information about the current situation of NATO editions and possible consequences, we refer to the reporting of Tagesschau , ZDF and Faqs .