U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that all NATO member states are expected to agree on a long-term goal of spending 5% of their GDP on defense by the time of the 2025 NATO Summit in June.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that all NATO members are on track to agree to a defense spending goal of 5% of GDP over the next decade, aligning with U.S. expectations ahead of the NATO Summit scheduled for June 24-25, 2025, in the Netherlands.
Speaking on Fox News' "Hannity," Rubio highlighted growing momentum among alliance members toward increased military investment. “I can tell you that we are headed for a summit in six weeks, in which virtually every member of NATO will be at or above 2%, but more importantly, many of them will be over 4%, and all will have agreed on the goal of reaching 5% over the next decade,” he said.
The statement marks a significant shift from the past, particularly during President Donald Trump's first term (2017–2021), when he criticized NATO allies for underinvesting in collective defense and cut U.S. funding to the alliance.
Germany, long criticized for falling short of NATO’s 2% target, announced in January that it had met the benchmark for 2024. This week, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul confirmed Berlin’s support for increasing defense spending to 5% of GDP, echoing Trump's recent demands for greater burden-sharing.
The push for higher military expenditures comes amid heightened global security concerns and efforts to strengthen NATO's deterrence capabilities. If confirmed, the 5% target would mark the most ambitious collective defense spending commitment in the alliance's history.
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Iran is preparing to host a multilateral regional meeting next week in a bid to mediate between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
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