US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said after a meeting with alliance counterparts in Brussels that there was a “near consensus” over raising NATO’s defense spending target to 5% of GDP.
“Countries in there are well exceeding 2% and we think very close, almost near consensus, on a 5% commitment for Nato,” Hegseth said.
The alliance is expected to sign a new pledge at a NATO summit this month increasing defense spending targets to 3.5% of GDP and add a 1.5% target for security-related infrastructure such as cyber capabilities and transportation.
Many countries already spend roughly 1.5% of GDP on the types of infrastructure expected to be included in the pledge, but the figure would allow US President Donald Trump to say the alliance is setting the 5% spending target he has demanded, a Western official told Semafor.