The newly elected president of the USA is urging Alliance members to significantly increase their military funding, aiming for a level that is twice the current NATO standard of 2%.
According to Politico, for example, Italy, which will spend only 1.57% of its GDP on defense this year, plans to reach 2% by 2028.
"I don’t think it will be 5%, because for most countries in the world, it's simply impossible," said the Italian Minister of Defense.
Experts point out that even with Poland, the country closest to 5%, there is little hope for most countries to achieve such a level. Poland spent 4.12% of its GDP on defense in 2024 and aims to increase this figure to 4.7% this year. However, most European nations are not prepared for drastic changes in their budgets.
Many European countries, particularly Germany and France, are facing political challenges and budget constraints, making it difficult to achieve Trump's ambitious goals. Significant fluctuations in defense spending are also observed in the Baltic and Scandinavian countries. Estonia, for instance, will allocate 3.7% of its GDP to defense this year, while Sweden, which spent 2.1% of its GDP on defense last year, also believes it should spend more.
Despite this, there is a growing consensus among NATO members regarding the need to raise the current target of 2%. It is expected that at the summit in The Hague in June this year, North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries may agree on new defense spending targets.
Source: politico.