NATO summit in the Netherlands.
Haiyun Jiang | By Reuters
The moment of the truth for NATO will be on Wednesday when the Western Military Alliance will make a joint statement at a significant increase in the collective defense.
The allies were exposed to their erosion, pressure and pressure to raise their defensive expenses from 2 % to 5 % of the gross domestic product of each member in each member by 2035, even if some fought to fulfill the lower goal.
CNBC spoke to NATO members on the ground who told us that the member states of the 32nd bloc are likely to light up on Wednesday – NATO ambassadors have already agreed in principle – but this procedure, and the deadline, can still slip.
“Of course, these are difficult decisions, so that you can be honest in that,” NATO Secretary -General Mark Retty told CNBC on Wednesday.
“Seven or eight countries at the beginning of this year were not even at the goal 2 % … but they are now committed to doing this this year,” he added.
“But you are right, countries must find money. This is not easy, these are political decisions, but at the same time, there is an absolute conviction with my colleagues on the table, given the threat from Russia, given the international security situation, there is no alternative.”
The United States’ commitment to the alliance also focuses, after years of US President Donald Trump thwarted from Canadian and European allies who do not withdraw their weight when it comes to defense contributions.
While he was wandering at the top late on Tuesday, Trump seemed to question the collective defense doctrine in NATO (Article 5), which states that the attack on one member was an attack on everyone.
“There are many definitions of Article 5. You know that, right?” Trump told reporters in the first air force. “But I am committed to being their friends, as you know, I have become a friend of many of these leaders, and I am committed to helping them.”
Mark Retti is looking to reassure the allies that Washington will not abandon the bloc, and told the summit that “there is a complete commitment by the US President and the US Supreme Command in NATO.”
“However, it comes with an expectation. The expectation is that we will finally deal with this huge irritation, which is that we do not spend enough Europeans and Canadians,” Roti said on Tuesday.
“It’s time to get serious”
In 2014, NATO members pledged 2 % of GDP to defense, but some countries, such as Canada and Spain, have struggled to meet that threshold.
Other member states, especially those in the northern and eastern wings of the mass and are closer to Russia’s opponent – such as Poland and Estonia – exceeded this goal.
Spain, the slightest rush as a share of GDP in the alliance, had already stuck to its head over the barrier to risk Trump cover by saying that an increase in spending on 5 % of GDP was “unreasonable”, and is said to seek to cancel the subscription from the new goal.
Rutti NATO said that he was “not worried” that the likes of Spain would surpass the summit goals and great diplomatic efforts to persuade members to accept high spending.
The heads of state, foreign ministers and other defense CNBC have told that they hope that the allies will fall into the queue.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Chouf was in a bullish mood on Wednesday, as CNBC told NATO “will provide unity today”, but other European leaders were unable to exclude the possibility of consensus on the goal of ambitious spending.
On Tuesday, he told Sweden Prime Minister ULF KRISSSOSON CNBC that he could not “exclude any kind of problem. I think you cannot” even though he added that “this is the time to not take opportunities. This is the time for a serious motivation.”
He told CNBC on the sidelines of the summit: “You can consider this unit a matter of it.
Meanwhile, Estonia’s Defense Minister Hano Bevercor said that 32 -year -old members will have to find a compromise.
“I would like to say that the real result is that we will reach 5 % by (20) 35, and then we will have a review of the ability of the ability (resources) every year,” he said. “The worst scenario, of course, is that we will not come to consensus. But I think this percentage, or this possibility is very low,” he said.
No one missed that you missed an opportunity to save the European Union. European Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Urban said that the European Union rules to reduce the budget deficit and debt, which is a dispute between Budapest and Brussels, must be changed to allow member states to meet the defense spending pledge.
“Keep the list as it is and no one in the European Union is able to fulfill 5 %,” CNBC told CNBC on Wednesday. Trump’s Prime Minister denied that the spending pledge was designed to satisfy the “ego” of the White House leader, saying that the president was a “coastal man.”
Meanwhile, Trump told the correspondents with the start of the summit on Wednesday: “I told them for years to get up to 5 %, and they reach 5 % … I think this will be very big news and NATO will be very strong with us.” He sat next to the American leader, Rot insisted that “without President Trump, this would not have happened.”
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2025-06-25 11:05:00
