NATO Leaders agree to increase defense spending

NATO countries pledged to spend 5% of their gross domestic product on defense and security by 2035, in the final statement of today's NATO summit in The Hague.

The allies want to allocate "at least 3.5% of their GDP annually" to military spending and 1.5% to overall security, including "protecting critical installations" and defending "networks."

The final statement affirmed NATO member states' "unwavering" commitment to collective defense, following doubts about US President Donald Trump's commitment to this principle, a fundamental principle of NATO's founding.

The statement read, "We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to collective defense, as stated in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, that an attack on one of us is an attack on all."

Trump described the agreement to increase defense spending as "a great victory for everyone." Trump said, "I've been asking them to increase spending to 5 percent for years, and they're going to increase it to 5 percent... I think that would be very important news." He added, "We stand with them."

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said, "As Europeans, we must recognize that our long hiatus from history is over," adding that the continent must assume responsibility for its own security "in a very difficult period."

T/S

ANHA