NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at a press conference ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, June 23, 2025. (Photo: REUTERS/Yves Herman)
Rutte said the increased spending will support a five-fold expansion in air defense systems, the purchase of thousands of tanks and armored vehicles, and the production of millions of rounds of artillery ammunition. He stressed the need to scale up defense production capacity to strengthen NATO's deterrence.

Head added that the commitment applies to all NATO members without exception or bilateral agreements, despite Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez criticizing the 5% target last week as "disproportionate and unnecessary." Sánchez said Spain would need to spend only 2.1% of GDP to meet NATO’s requirements for personnel, equipment, and infrastructure.

US President Donald Trump had pushed earlier for the defense budget threshold to rise from 2%of GDP to 5%. That proposal was later revised to allocate 3.5% for core defense spending and 1.5% for related infrastructure and cybersecurity.