Donald Trump pressed by Donald Trump, NATO members continue to increase their military spending

According to the data revealed by NATO, 22 of the 32 member countries of the Alliance had reached the threshold of 2% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for military spending last year, an objective that Donald Trump still wants to increase. European countries have increased their defense budgets since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022 and approached, or even exceeded the 2% threshold of GDP set by the Atlantic Alliance.

Upstream of a NATO summit in The Hague in June, the US president exerts pressure on the members of the organization so that they go significantly further and agree to take their military expenditure to 5% of GDP, a level that the United States itself is not currently reached.

But, in absolute value, the United States remains, with much, the country that spends more in defense among NATO members. Last year, the US budget dedicated only to armies represented 64% of the military expenses of the Atlantic Alliance. In general, the expenditure of European and Canada members increased more than 19% last year, according to the annual alliance report.

Donald Trump suggested that he could refuse to protect countries that do not spend enough.

An increase in expenses to consolidate

With 3.19%of GDP, the American defense spending relationship was in the fourth row of the Alliance last year, behind Poland (4.07%), Estonia (3.41%), Latvia (3.39%) and Lithuania (3.11%), of Russian border countries.

Initially, NATO planned that 23 countries would reach the 2% threshold in 2024. In 2014, there were only three of them crossing this level. Several countries that have not yet achieved the 2% objective have recently committed to intensify their efforts.

Red Lantern with only 1.24% of its GDP dedicated to defense in 2024, Spain promised this week that it would invest more than 10 billion euros, to reach 2% this year. In addition to Spain, NATO minimum was failed in particular by Belgium (1.29%), Canada (1.45%) and Italy (1.5%).

The military expenditure of France (2.03%of GDP), lower than that of Germany (2.1%) and the United Kingdom (2.33%), has just reached the required threshold. The NATO general secretary, Mark Rutte, warns: “In 2025, it will be a matter of doing even more and faster.”