NATO sees a ‘transformative’ summit despite differences on major defense spending

Hague: NATO general secretary Mark Rute said that the military organizations will agree on a large scale in a “transformational summit” on Wednesday, as members of the state state, including US President Donald Trump, gathered in the Netherlands. 32-Nation coalition leaders are expected to agree the target of 5% of the GDP, as the United States, NATO’s largest spending member-safety focuses on Europe to focus on security priorities. “So a transformational summit. Looking forward to this,” Rute told reporters in the Hague, before presiding over the session of the meeting, which was expected to last for less than three hours. But before the meeting, Spain announced that it would not be able to reach the target to the new 2035 deadline, it would be called “unfair”. Belgium indicated that it would not be found there either, and Slovakia said it reserves the right to decide its own defense spending. Spain, like many NATO colleagues, face major economic challenges, and Trump’s global tariff war can make it even more difficult for America’s colleagues to reach their goals. Some countries are already spending welfare and foreign aid to channel additional funds in their military budget. Rute admitted that “these are difficult decisions. Let’s be honest. I mean, politicians will have to make an option in disintegration. And it is not easy.” But he said: “Looking at the threat from the Russians, there is no option, given the international security situation.” Other countries Russia and Ukraine – are close to the boundaries of Poland and three Baltic countries – have committed to the target, as NATO’s European heavyweights are Britain, France, Germany and Netherlands. On Tuesday, Trump complained that “is a problem with Spain. Spain does not agree, which is very inappropriate for the rest of them, clearly.” He has also criticized Canada “a low payer”. In 2018, during Trump’s first term, a NATO summit was launched due to dispute over defense spending. After a full -scale invasion of Russia in 2022, NATO colleagues agreed to create a minimum spending level of GDP. Last year, 22 countries were expected to hit the target, which was just above three decades ago. In the Hague, the Allies plan a major improvement of their spending goals. NATO is expected to “core defense expenses” up to 3.5%, while changing how it is counted to provide military assistance to Ukraine. To hit the 5% demand of Trump, the deal will set a second target of 1.5% of the GDP for a wide range of defense-related expenses, such as improving roads, bridges, ports and air areas so that forces can deploy more quickly, combat measures for cyber and hybrid attacks, or prepare societies to deal with future struggles.