Dutch PM: NATO’s Rutte calls for allies to boost spending to 5% of GDP

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has called on alliance members to commit to significantly higher defence and security spending targets by 2032, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said.

According to Schoof, Rutte has proposed that NATO members raise their defence budgets to 3.5% of GDP, with an additional 1.5% allocated to broader security-related areas, including cyber security and infrastructure, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

The figures, initially reported, are said to be part of an effort to address U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand for NATO countries to meet a combined 5% spending threshold.

“Rutte has sent a letter to all NATO members to say that he expects that the commitment at the NATO summit will be 3.5% on hard military spending, to be reached in 2032, and 1.5% on related spending such as on infrastructure, cyber security, and similar things also to be reached by 2032,” Schoof told reporters following a cabinet meeting.

The proposed spending levels would mark a major shift from NATO’s current target of 2% of GDP for defence. So far, 22 of NATO’s 32 members meet the 2% goal. However, alliance leaders are increasingly calling for more robust commitments in light of heightened threats from Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Schoof said the Netherlands was still considering its stance on the proposal and would engage in further discussions. “Other NATO members were also considering Rutte's request and would have to discuss it with their parliaments,” he added.

The alliance is expected to address the proposed targets at its upcoming summit in The Hague on June 24–25, which will include participation from President Trump. No NATO member currently meets the 5% combined target.

NATO figures show the United States spends approximately 3.2% of its GDP on defence, while Poland allocates the highest share, at over 4%.

By Aghakazim Guliyev