German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (left) upon his arrival in the garden of the chancellery in Berlin to join a video conference of European leaders with the U.S. President on the Ukraine war ahead of the summit between the U.S. and Russian leaders, on Aug. 13, 2025. (John Macdougall, AFP, Getty Images/TNS)
(Tribune News Service) — NATO members are on track to spend more than $1.5 trillion on defense in 2025, according to the alliance’s latest estimates, as they build up their militaries amid geopolitical tensions and pressure from the U.S.
All of the allies are set to meet the old spending target of 2% of GDP this year, the report showed.
They have since agreed, at the alliance’s last summit in The Hague in June, on a new goal of 5% of GDP to be spent on their armies by 2035, including 3.5% on defense and 1.5% on related matters such as infrastructure.
The agreement marked a landmark moment for an alliance that has been reinvigorated since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 forced leaders across Europe to dramatically reassess the threat they face from Moscow.
NATO’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, had worked for months to ensure the U.S. renewed its commitments on collective defense in return.
The new goals promise to transform Europe’s militaries and the security architecture of the continent. The spending effort is led by Germany, whose annual defense budget is expected to double to as much as €162 billion ($188 billion) within four years, with €9 billion a year for Ukraine to support its fight against Russia.
This year, all allies except for Belgium are also expected to follow NATO’s guideline of devoting 20% of their defense spending to equipment.
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