NATO agrees ‘historic’ spending hike

AFP | The Hague

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US President Donald Trump took a victory lap at NATO’s Hague summit yesterday, joining leaders in reaffirming the “ironclad” commitment to protect each other after allies agreed to his demand to ramp up defence spending.

The unpredictable US leader appeared keen to take the plaudits as he secured a key foreign policy win by getting NATO’s 32 countries to agree to meet his headline target of five percent of GDP on defence spending.

In a move that will provide reassurance to allies in Europe worried over the threat from Russia, Trump signed off on a final leaders’ declaration confirming “our ironclad commitment” to NATO’s collective defence pledge that an attack on one is an attack on all.

“It’s a great victory for everybody, I think, and we will be equalised,” Trump said of the new spending commitment, ahead of the summit’s main session.

Diplomats said that behind closed doors Trump insisted there was no greater ally than Washington and urged others to spend some of the new money on US weaponry.

The deal hatched by NATO is a compromise that allows Trump to claim triumph, while in reality providing wiggle room for cash-strapped governments in Europe.

It sees countries promise to dedicate 3.5 percent of GDP to core military spending by 2035, and a further 1.5 to broader security-related areas such as infrastructure.

Entering the meeting, leaders lined up to declare the summit’s spending hike as “historic”.

NATO allies say the increase is needed to counter a growing threat from Russia but also to keep Trump engaged, with the US leader long complaining that Europe spends too little on its own defence.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said: “As Europeans, we should realise that our long break from history is over.”

The continent needed to take responsibility for its own security “in a very difficult time”, added De Wever.