NATO Agrees to increase Defence Spending at the Hague Summit Meeting

The countries of the Western military alliance, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), have agreed to increase their defence spending to 5% of their gross domestic product (GDP). The agreement, which is seen as an acceptance of American President Donald Trump’s demand, was reached at the 2025 NATO Summit Meeting, attended by the Heads of State/Government of all 32 NATO members.

Where was the 2025  NATO Summit held?

• The 2025 NATO Summit meeting was held in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 24 and 25, 2025.
• The NATO Secretary General always chairs the NATO Summit meeting.
• The Hague Summit was chaired by the current Secretary General, Mark Rutte, former Prime Minister of the Netherlands.

Who will host the 2026 NATO Summit?

• Turkiyee will host the 2026 NATO Summit meeting. 

Decision taken at the 2025 NATO Summit Meeting

• The member countries will incrementally increase their defence spending and reach the target of 5% of their GDP by 2035.
• Out of 5%, 3.5% will be allocated to core defence requirements, and 1.5% will be spent on defence and security-related investments in infrastructure and industry.
• Earlier in 2014, the member countries agreed to spend 2% of their GDP on defence.
• The Donald Trump administration wants other countries to increase their defence spending to reduce the burden on the United States.
• They reaffirmed their commitment to Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, which led to the foundation of NATO. 
• Article 5 calls for collective defence, under which a member country will come to the aid of another member country that has been attacked.

About North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)

Foundation - 4 April, 1949, when 12 countries signed a treaty in Washington D.C, which laid the foundation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. This is famous as the Washington Treaty.

Founding members (12)- Canada, Italy, Belgium, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Current Members - 32. Sweden became the 32nd country to join NATO on March 7, 2024.

Aims and Objectives of NATO

It is a collective defence treaty that obliges the other member countries to defend a member country that has been attacked.

It was primarily formed to defend the democratic liberal Western countries from the communist Soviet Union and its allies in Eastern Europe. 

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia is considered a threat by NATO.

Headquarters: Initially, London served as NATO's headquarters, but in 1967, it was relocated to Brussels, Belgium.

Secretary General - Mark Rutte