The President of the European Council believes that EU countries will agree to allocate over 2% of their GDP for defense spending.

EU members that are also part of NATO are likely to agree to increase the defense spending target above the current 2% of GDP at the alliance's summit in June, establishing a new benchmark.

This was stated by the President of the European Council, António Costa, as reported by RBK-Ukraine citing Reuters.

U.S. President Donald Trump is pressuring NATO allies to raise defense spending to 5%—a target currently not met by any of the 32 NATO member states, including the U.S.

Costa has scheduled an informal meeting of European Union leaders next Monday to discuss investments in defense and security, he mentioned in an interview with Portuguese RTP.

He added that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will also be present at the meeting.

New Target

According to Costa, the joint defense spending of the 23 EU countries that are part of NATO has already reached the target of 2% after increasing it by 30% following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

"There is a reasonable consensus among member states to continue moving in this direction," he added.

He expects that a goal above 2% will be established at the next NATO summit in June. "Whether it will be 5%, whether it will be 3%, I don't know; that is a decision for member states to make within NATO," he said.

The European Council, led by Costa, brings together the national governments of 27 EU member states. NATO includes 23 countries.

Analysts and officials told Reuters that a 5% GDP defense spending target is politically and economically unfeasible for nearly all NATO members, as it would require billions of dollars in additional funding. However, they say allies are likely to agree to exceed the current 2% target at the June summit.

Threat to NATO

Former Prime Minister of Portugal Costa stated that Russia is the main threat to NATO, and countries should prioritize improving air defense, missile defense, and electronic warfare systems.

According to him, spending on defense technologies and industry will also enhance the competitiveness of the EU economy, adding that there will ultimately be a need to discuss "common funding" for collective defense.

France and the Baltic states are advocating for the EU to jointly borrow funds to finance defense expenditures. The outcome of these debates may depend on national elections next month in Germany, which has so far opposed this idea.

It was previously reported that NATO is considering raising the defense spending norm from 2% to 3% of GDP.