Lithuania and Estonia became the first NATO countries to agree to US President Donald Trumpʼs demand to spend more than 5% of their GDP on defense.
The Financial Times writes about this.
Lithuania is ready to spend 5 to 6% of its GDP on defense starting next year and at least until 2030. This is about twice as much as it does now.
"Of course, there is pressure, and it is good and constructive pressure from our strategic and largest ally in NATO. We cannot ignore these signals. But this is not the only reason. It is existentially important for us to have real military capabilities here," said Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys.
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal, in response to Lithuaniaʼs promise, said his country also plans to allocate 5% of GDP to defense. The country currently spends 3.7%.
"Our key security partner, under the leadership of its new President, has sent a clear signal: NATOʼs defense spending must increase. We know our adversary, and I fully agree — our target should be 5%," Michal noted.
NATO is set to raise its unofficial defense spending target from 2% to 3% or 3.5% at its June summit, European officials say, as the bloc looks to respond to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But Trump has told allies he wants 5%, a figure now supported by several leading NATO countries, including Poland, which leads the alliance in spending above 4%.
- Trump has repeatedly demanded that European leaders invest more money in NATO. He has previously said that he would “encourage” Russia to “do whatever it wants” with NATO member states that have failed to meet their financial obligations to the alliance.
- In December 2024, Trump threatened to withdraw the United States from NATO if allies refused to increase their defense contributions.
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