NATO countries have agreed a statement ahead of their upcoming summit that sets a target of increasing annual defence and security spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, overcoming opposition from Spain.

Source: Reuters and German press agency DPA, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Reuters sources say the statement has been approved by all 32 NATO members, but it will only become official once endorsed by leaders, including US President Donald Trump, at the summit in The Hague on Wednesday.

DPA has confirmed that NATO member states reached the agreement on the planned defence spending targets just days before the key summit in The Hague.

It is not yet known how Spain was persuaded to drop its objections.

The consensus on the 5% GDP target can be considered a victory for Donald Trump, who has been demanding for months that Allies commit to significantly boosting their defence budgets.

Background:

Spain had publicly opposed NATO’s proposal to raise defence spending to 3.5% of GDP and security-related expenditure to 1.5% of GDP.Trump responded that "NATO’s going to have to deal with Spain."Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had sent a letter to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte urging him to consider a “more flexible formula” for defence spending.

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