They said the nations, some have signed up to the agreement reluctantly, still need to figure out where to find the money and what counts as defense spending.
President Donald Trump (4th L) poses with the leaders of NATO nations, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and the Dutch king and queen, on the eve of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 24, 2025. Haiyun Jiang/AFP via Getty Images
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News Analysis
After months of behind-the-scenes haggling and political pressure from President Donald Trump, the leaders of all 32 member countries signed up to a deal on June 25 to spend 5 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defense by 2035.
Chris Summers is a UK-based journalist covering a wide range of national stories, with a particular interest in crime, policing and the law.
