NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Monday that European NATO members together with Canada have increased their combined defense and security spending to roughly 4% of gross domestic product.
Speaking to reporters ahead of a leaders summit in Ankara, Rutte highlighted a sharp rise in core defense budgets, noting that European allies and Canada boosted core defense spending by nearly 20% last year compared with the prior year. He also said that the cumulative increase planned for 2025 and 2026 represents an additional $258 billion in investment.
Those figures come against the backdrop of an agreement reached at last year’s NATO summit to raise overall defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. That target is structured to include 3.5% of GDP devoted to core defense investments and a further 1.5% of GDP allocated to related security items.
Rutte said he expects member nations to lay out concrete implementation plans at the Ankara summit to reach the 5% objective. He emphasized that, while the initiative spans a ten-year horizon, European allies and Canada are already committing roughly 4% of their GDP to defense and security just one year into the program.
In addition to budgetary increases, the NATO chief said member states will unveil new procurement contracts at a defense industry forum scheduled for Tuesday. He characterized those forthcoming announcements as contracts worth tens of billions of dollars.
Context and implications
The statements describe a coordinated push by European NATO members and Canada to expand defense expenditures significantly within a multi-year framework. The near-term increases and planned investments for 2025-26 signal a material rise in defense-related spending flows and procurement activity.
At the Ankara summit, member states are expected to present the next steps in translating the 5% of GDP objective into specific budgets and programs, including the split between core defense investments and broader security-related items.
Key data cited by NATO
- Combined defense and security spending by European allies and Canada: about 4% of GDP.
- Increase in core defense spending last year versus the previous year: nearly 20%.
- Additional investment planned for 2025 and 2026: $258 billion.
- Long-term NATO target agreed last year: 5% of GDP by 2035 (3.5% core defense, 1.5% security-related).