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NATO presses 5%
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte urged European allies to present “clear, concrete, and credible spending plans” in Ankara, warning that nations must be on track toward the defense investment target of 5% as heads of state and government of the 32 NATO countries prepare to meet.
“Russian Threat December 13, 2025 Warning that Europe must prepare for a war on a scale comparable to those of the 20th century, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has reignited the debate about the Russian threat”
Rutte said European NATO allies and Canada spent “almost 20% more on defense than the year before,” and that “Looking at 2025 and 2026 together, that is $258 billion in additional investments,” while also warning the figures were not enough for Donald Trump.
El País reported that the 2025 The Hague summit pledge set investment at 3.5% for pure military spending and a further 1.5% for infrastructure, roads, bridges and ports, so troops can move faster in a crisis.
The same El País account said Trump has threatened not to come to the aid of members who do what he considers enough, and it cited his demand for “loyalty” after some allies refused to allow the use of their bases in the war between the United States and Israel against Iran.
Germany and the roadmap
In Berlin, Politico.eu said Chancellor Friedrich Merz is putting Germany’s rearmament drive at the center of government spending, with a draft budget allocating “one in every five euros of federal expenditure in 2027 to defense.”
Politico.eu quoted German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil saying, “We cannot defend ourselves against Putin with a balanced budget,” as the 2027 plan totals €555.4 billion with €109.7 billion dedicated to defense spending.
El País described how Spain argued it could meet commitments by investing 2.1% of GDP, while also saying Rutte warned that “If there are still one or two of them to convince, we have ways to do it.”
El País further reported that the United States has announced it wants to shift the burden of European defense to its European allies and redeploy troops at least in Germany, while stopping making available to NATO in Europe elements as strategic as fighters, tanker aircraft, or submarines.
Pressure, purchases, and consequences
In a briefing ahead of the Ankara summit, the U.S. ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, said “there will be measures by the United States” against states that do not uphold the commitment to reach 5% of GDP on defense.
“Hegseth to NATO: 'Buy U”
Infosannio said Whitaker stressed that “Trump expects increases in the near term,” and it described a yardstick logic in which the Ankara summit would be used to judge progress toward The Hague defense commitments.
Il manifesto reported that Pete Hegseth told NATO to “Buy U.S. weapons, no more freeloaders,” linking the push to a “lethal NATO, led by Europeans” and to a “credible Ukrainian army, ready to fight and able to defend itself and deter further aggression.”
Il Sole 24 ORE said the 32 NATO member countries decided to raise military spending from 2% to 5% of GDP by 2035, and it quoted President Trump calling Spain “terrible” while accusing it of seeking to pull off a “free ride.”
