Latest news with #collectiveDefence
Times of Oman
7 days ago
- Business
- Times of Oman
NATO members pledge 5% GDP on defence spending by 2035
The Hague: The member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) have committed to ramping up their defence spending, affirming an "ironclad commitment" for their collective defence by investing 5 per cent of their country's GDP annually on "core defence requirements" as well as defence- and security-related sectors by 2035 as outlined in The Hague Summit Declaration. As per the declaration, released on Wednesday following the summit, the 32 Heads of State and Government of the military alliance resolved to bolster its military capabilities, particularly the long-term threat posed by Russia and the persistent challenge of terrorism, while reaffirming the transatlantic bond and collective defence principles. "We the Heads of State and Government of the North Atlantic Alliance, have gathered in The Hague to reaffirm our commitment to NATO, the strongest Alliance in history, and to the transatlantic bond. We reaffirm our ironclad commitment to collective defence as enshrined in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty - that an attack on one is an attack on all. We remain united and steadfast in our resolve to protect our one billion citizens, defend the Alliance, and safeguard our freedom and democracy," the declaration stated. "United in the face of profound security threats and challenges, in particular the long-term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security and the persistent threat of terrorism, Allies commit to invest 5 per cent of GDP annually on core defence requirements as well as defence-and security-related spending by 2035 to ensure our individual and collective obligations, in accordance with Article 3 of the Washington Treaty," it added. The declaration further breaks down the 5 per cent commitment into two essential categories, with at least 3.5 per cent of GDP allocated to core defence requirements and meeting NATO Capability Targets, with annual plans submitted to show a credible, incremental path to this goal. The remaining up to 1.5 per cent will be directed towards protecting critical infrastructure, defending networks, ensuring civil preparedness and resilience, unleashing innovation, and strengthening the defence industrial base, with a review of the trajectory and balance of this spending scheduled for 2029. "Allies agree that this 5% commitment will comprise two essential categories of defence investment. Allies will allocate at least 3.5% of GDP annually based on the agreed definition of NATO defence expenditure by 2035 to resource core defence requirements and to meet the NATO Capability Targets. Allies agree to submit annual plans showing a credible, incremental path to reach this goal. And Allies will account for up to 1.5% of GDP annually to inter alia protect our critical infrastructure, defend our networks, ensure our civil preparedness and resilience, unleash innovation, and strengthen our defence industrial base. The trajectory and balance of spending under this plan will be reviewed in 2029, in light of the strategic environment and updated Capability Targets," the declaration specified. However, the 5 per cent GDP commitment, a significant increase from the previous 2 per cent target, hasn't aligned with all the members of the organisation. Spain has openly stated it won't be able to meet the proposed 5 per cent defence spending target, with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez affirming that his government will adhere to the existing 2 per cent benchmark, which was originally established after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, as reported by Al Jazeera. Spain currently ranks as the NATO member with the lowest defence spending, with just 1.24 per cent of its GDP allocated to defence in 2024, placing it among the nine countries that failed to reach the 2 per cent target, as per Al Jazeera.
The Independent
25-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Starmer insists Nato committed to mutual defence as Trump casts doubt on support
Sir Keir Starmer insisted Nato remains committed to collective defence after US President Donald Trump cast doubt on his support for the mutual aid pact. Before Wednesday's Nato summit in The Hague, Mr Trump had told reporters on the flight from Washington it would depend 'on your definition' of Article 5, when asked if he would commit to collective defence. Nato's Article 5 commits all members of the alliance to come to the defence of each other if attacked. But speaking to broadcasters on the way into the summit, the Prime Minister said allies were 'absolutely committed to the importance of Nato, particularly in a very volatile world'. And before the meeting of the North Atlantic Council on Wednesday, Sir Keir appeared to be in deep conversation with Mr Trump. Sir Keir's message was repeated by Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte, who opened the summit meeting with the words: 'Our joint commitment to Article 5, that an attack on one is an attack on all, sends a powerful message.' Standing next to Mr Trump, the secretary-general praised the US president for bringing about a commitment from the alliance to spend 5% of GDP on defence, telling him: 'You made this possible.' Earlier, Mr Rutte had described the US president as 'a man of strength' as well as a 'man of peace', praising him for securing a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. Mr Trump also compared Israel and Iran to 'two kids in a school yard' fighting. 'They fight like hell. You can't stop them. Let them fight for about two, three minutes. Then it's easier to stop them,' he said. Mr Rutte added: 'Then daddy has to sometimes use strong language.' The UK has signed up to the new Nato spending target, pledging to spend 3.5% of GDP on 'core defence' and another 1.5% on security and resilience measures such as critical national infrastructure, border security and intelligence. But the Government does not expect to reach the target until 2035, three years after the 2032 deadline some allies were pushing for, and has not said how the increase will be funded. Alongside the commitment to increase defence spending, the UK has also announced its intention to purchase 12 new fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear weapons. Billed as 'the biggest strengthening' of Britain's nuclear posture 'in a generation', the move will see the jets committed to a Nato mission that would see US nuclear bombs fitted to allied aircraft. It follows a recommendation from the strategic defence review, published earlier in June, to begin negotiations with the US and Nato on joining the alliance's nuclear mission. Following the announcement, Defence Secretary John Healey was seen speaking to his US counterpart Pete Hegseth on the margins of the Nato summit.
Sky News
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Iran and NATO summit live: Trump says reports about failure of strikes on Iran's nuclear sites 'unfair' to US pilots
'Ironclad commitment' to Article 5 survives Trump's scepticism in summit communique - but Ukraine sidelined By Deborah Haynes, defence and security editor Donald Trump and his NATO allies confirmed their "ironclad commitment" to collective defence in a communique released at the end of a brief summit in The Hague. They also agreed to boost defence spending and described Russia as a "long-term threat". But there was no mention of criticism about Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine - something that had been in previous statements by allied leaders when Joe Biden was in the White House. There was also no word about NATO membership for Ukraine - even though the alliance had previously said Kyiv was on an "irreversible path" to joining. Trump, though, has ruled out NATO membership for Ukraine. He has a closer relationship with the Russian president than many other allies. 'Ironclad commitment' to collective defence reaffirmed The endorsement of Article 5 of NATO's founding treaty came after the US commander in chief – the most powerful leader in the room – suggested on his way to the gathering that his definition of what it means may differ from other allies. The US president's words risked undermining the credibility of a commitment that has helped ensure the security of NATO for more than 75 years, though the joint statement, approved by the leaders of all 32 member states spelt out clearly what article 5 constitutes. 'We reaffirm our ironclad commitment to collective defence as enshrined in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty – that an attack on one is an attack on all,' it said. "We remain united and steadfast in our resolve to protect our one billion citizens, defend the Alliance, and safeguard our freedom and democracy." Watch below: Haynes explains the importance of Article 5 5% pledge designed to reassure Trump Sir Keir Starmer and the leaders of all European member states, as well as Canada, are all too aware of Trump's scepticism about NATO. He has accused his allies of taking advantage of the US's far more powerful armed forces to defend Europe and wants the rest of the alliance to take on more of the burden. Urgently needing to keep him onside, Mark Rutte, the head of NATO, has been rallying member states to agree to a new pledge to spend 5% of GDP on defence and related areas – a figure first touted by Trump. The statement commits allies to hit this goal by 2035, though Spain has already come out to warn it will agree to the new target, but without having a plan to reach it. "United in the face of profound security threats and challenges, in particular the long term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security and the persistent threat of terrorism, Allies commit to invest 5% of GDP annually on core defence requirements as well as defence-and security-related spending by 2035," the communique read. It is a significant rise, that is broken down into 3.5% of GDP on core defence – up from a previous goal of 2% - and a further 1.5% to be invested in national resilience, such as roads, railways, energy and cyber security. Ukraine only mentioned in context of spending The final communique was much shorter than usual, comprising just five paragraphs. The only mention of Russia's war in Ukraine said: "Allies reaffirm their enduring sovereign commitments to provide support to Ukraine, whose security contributes to ours, and, to this end, will include direct contributions towards Ukraine's defence and its defence industry when calculating Allies' defence spending." Trump has vowed to end Russia's war in Ukraine but has so far failed to stop the fighting.
Sky News
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
NATO allies agree 'ironclad commitment' to collective defence - but no condemnation of Russia's war in Ukraine
Donald Trump and his NATO allies confirmed their "ironclad commitment" to collective defence in a communique released at the end of a brief summit in The Hague. But there was no condemnation of Russia's war in Ukraine - something that had been in previous statements by allied leaders when Joe Biden was in the White House. His successor has a closer relationship with Vladimir Putin than many of his allies. The document did describe Russia as a "long-term threat". But there was also no word about NATO membership for Ukraine - something that had previously been described an "irreversible path". The allies also agreed to spend more on their collective defence. The endorsement of Article 5 of NATO's founding treaty came after the US commander-in-chief - the most powerful leader in the room - suggested on his way to the gathering that his definition of what it means may differ from other allies. The US president's words risked undermining the credibility of a commitment that has helped ensure the security of NATO for more than 75 years, though the joint statement, approved by the leaders of all 32 member states spelt out clearly what Article 5 constitutes. 0:53 "We reaffirm our ironclad commitment to collective defence as enshrined in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty - that an attack on one is an attack on all," it said. "We remain united and steadfast in our resolve to protect our one billion citizens, defend the Alliance, and safeguard our freedom and democracy." Sir Keir Starmer and the leaders of all European member states, as well as Canada, are all too aware of Mr Trump's scepticism about NATO. He has accused his allies of taking advantage of the US's far more powerful armed forces to defend Europe and wants the rest of the alliance to take on more of the burden. Urgently needing to keep him onside, Mark Rutte, the head of NATO, has been rallying member states to agree to a new pledge to spend 5% of GDP on defence and related areas - a level first touted by Mr Trump. The statement commits allies to hit this goal by 2035, though Spain has already come out to warn it will agree to the new target but without having a plan to reach it. The communique reads: "United in the face of profound security threats and challenges, in particular the long term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security and the persistent threat of terrorism, allies commit to invest 5% of GDP annually on core defence requirements as well as defence-and security-related spending by 2035." 2:38 It is a significant rise, that is broken down into 3.5% of GDP on core defence - up from a previous goal of 2% - and a further 1.5% to be invested in national resilience, such as roads, railways, energy and cyber security. The final communique was much shorter than usual, comprising just five paragraphs. In the only mention of Russia's war in Ukraine, it said: "Allies reaffirm their enduring sovereign commitments to provide support to Ukraine, whose security contributes to ours, and, to this end, will include direct contributions towards Ukraine's defence and its defence industry when calculating allies' defence spending." Mr Trump has vowed to end Russia's war in Ukraine but has so far failed to stop the fighting.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NATO allies agree 'ironclad commitment' to collective defence - but no condemnation of Russia's war in Ukraine
Donald Trump and his NATO allies confirmed their "ironclad commitment" to collective defence in a communique released at the end of a brief summit in The Hague. But there was no condemnation of Russia's war in Ukraine - something that had been in previous statements by allied leaders when Joe Biden was in the White House. His successor has a closer relationship with Vladimir Putin than many of his allies. The document did describe Russia as a "long-term threat". But there was also no word about NATO membership for Ukraine - something that had previously been described an "irreversible path". The allies also agreed to spend more on their collective defence. Middle East latest: The endorsement of Article 5 of NATO's founding treaty came after the US commander-in-chief - the most powerful leader in the room - suggested on his way to the gathering that from other allies. The US president's words risked undermining the credibility of a commitment that has helped ensure the security of NATO for more than 75 years, though the joint statement, approved by the leaders of all 32 member states spelt out clearly what Article 5 constitutes. "We reaffirm our ironclad commitment to collective defence as enshrined in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty - that an attack on one is an attack on all," it said. "We remain united and steadfast in our resolve to protect our one billion citizens, defend the Alliance, and safeguard our freedom and democracy." Sir Keir Starmer and the leaders of all European member states, as well as Canada, are all too aware of Mr Trump's scepticism about NATO. He has accused his allies of taking advantage of the US's far more powerful armed forces to defend Europe and wants the rest of the alliance to take on more of the burden. Read more: Urgently needing to keep him onside, Mark Rutte, the head of NATO, has been to spend 5% of GDP on defence and related areas - a level first touted by Mr Trump. The statement commits allies to hit this goal by 2035, though Spain has already come out to warn it will agree to the new target but without having a plan to reach it. The communique reads: "United in the face of profound security threats and challenges, in particular the long term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security and the persistent threat of terrorism, allies commit to invest 5% of GDP annually on core defence requirements as well as defence-and security-related spending by 2035." It is a significant rise, that is broken down into 3.5% of GDP on core defence - up from a previous goal of 2% - and a further 1.5% to be invested in national resilience, such as roads, railways, energy and cyber security. The final communique was much shorter than usual, comprising just five paragraphs. In the only mention of Russia's war in Ukraine, it said: "Allies reaffirm their enduring sovereign commitments to provide support to Ukraine, whose security contributes to ours, and, to this end, will include direct contributions towards Ukraine's defence and its defence industry when calculating allies' defence spending." Mr Trump has vowed to end Russia's war in Ukraine but has so far failed to stop the fighting.
