NATO Chief Expects 5% of GDP Defense Spending Agreement at Next Month's Summit

Secretary General Rutte Speaks at NATO Spring Session
First Official Statement on Defense Spending Figures

Mark Rutte, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), stated that at the summit next month, all 32 member states are expected to agree to spend 5% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defense.

EPA Yonhap News

On May 26 (local time), Secretary General Rutte made these remarks while attending the NATO Parliamentary Assembly's Spring Session held in Dayton, United States. In response to a request from U.S. President Donald Trump, there had been internal discussions about raising the current target from 2% of GDP to 5%. However, this is the first time the NATO chief has officially mentioned this figure in a public setting.

Until now, Secretary General Rutte had refrained from specifying any figures, citing ongoing discussions whenever related questions arose.

Secretary General Rutte explained that of the total 5%, more than 3% would be allocated directly to military spending, while the remainder would be spent on security-related expenditures.

Currently, the leading proposal is to reach 3.5% for direct military spending and 1.5% for indirect expenditures by 2032.

Secretary General Rutte stated, "When agreeing on the new target, first, it must be large enough to build the necessary capabilities, and it must match the U.S. spending ratio."

As of last year, the United States' defense spending was 3.38% of its GDP.