President Donald Trump speaks throughout a media convention on the finish of the NATO summit as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, proper, and Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth hear, in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025.
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Alex Brandon/AP Picture
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — NATO’s summit within the Netherlands on Wednesday has been described as “transformational” and “historic.” “We’re witnessing the delivery of a brand new NATO,” Finland’s President Alexander Stubb stated.
The 32 members of the world’s largest safety group endorsed a plan to massively ramp up protection spending, “again to the protection expenditure ranges of the Chilly Conflict,” as Stubb put it, pushed by U.S. President Donald Trump and fears of the safety risk posed by Russia.
Listed below are a few of the takeaways from the two-day assembly in The Hague.
Tens of billions of {dollars} in new navy spending
The nonbinding spending settlement means a steep price range hike for NATO’s European members and Canada that can value them tens of billions of {dollars}.
It is a main revamp of the best way NATO calculates protection spending. Till now, the allies had set a goal of two% of gross home product for his or her protection budgets. Now they will be aiming for 3.5% by 2035.
They will now be capable of embody weapons and ammunition they provide to Ukraine within the equation, making the brand new goal barely simpler to succeed in, however nonetheless troublesome for Canada and quite a lot of European international locations with financial troubles.
On prime of that, the allies will dedicate 1.5% of their GDP to upgrading infrastructure — roads, bridges, ports and airfields — wanted to deploy armies to the entrance. Cash spent on defending networks or making ready societies for future battle might be included.
Progress can be reviewed in 2029, after the subsequent U.S. presidential election.
Not everyone seems to be on board. Spain formally refused the settlement. Slovakia had reservations. Belgium, France and Italy will battle to fulfill the brand new goal.
NATO Secretary Normal Mark Rutte speaks throughout a media convention on the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025.
Matthias Schrader/AP
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Matthias Schrader/AP
A Trump dedication to collective protection
The leaders reaffirmed their “ironclad dedication” to NATO’s collective protection clause, Article 5. Lately, Trump had sowed seeds of doubt about whether or not the U.S. — NATO’s strongest member — would come to the help of any ally underneath assault.
Trump had appeared to situation that assist on increased protection spending. With NATO’s new spending pledge within the bag, he informed reporters that “I left there saying that these folks actually love their international locations. It isn’t a ripoff. And we’re right here to assist them defend their nation.”
He added that “they wish to defend their nation, and so they want the US, and with out the US, it isn’t going to be the identical.”
A sidelined Ukraine
After Russia invaded Ukraine by launching the largest land battle since World Conflict II in 2022, NATO summits have largely targeted on offering assist to Kyiv. This summit was totally different.
Beforehand, the emphasis was on Ukraine’s membership prospects and on bringing it nearer to NATO with out truly becoming a member of. However the closing summit assertion this time made no such point out.
As an alternative, the leaders underlined “their enduring sovereign commitments to offer assist to Ukraine.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was on the venue. He dined with different leaders on the Dutch king’s residence, held talks with a number of leaders and spent half an hour or so with Trump.
NATO’s plan was to focus the assembly solely on Trump’s pet trigger, protection spending. Overseas ministers did meet on the sidelines with their Ukrainian counterpart in an official NATO-Ukraine Council.
In a minor win for Ukraine, and for allies needing to influence residents that their governments should spend extra on protection, Russia was recognized because the standout of the “profound safety threats and challenges” going through NATO.
Netherland’s Prime Minister Dick Schoof, proper, speaks with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy throughout a gathering on the Catshuis on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025.
Markus Schreiber/AP
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Markus Schreiber/AP
A “good group of individuals”
If there have been doubts that the US runs NATO, the summit eliminated them. A really shortened summit and one-page assertion had been ready to maintain the U.S. president glad and targeted.
As Trump flew to the Netherlands, NATO Secretary-Normal Mark Rutte despatched a textual content message gushing about him being on the verge of an incredible achievement and saying, “Europe goes to pay in a BIG manner, as they need to, and it is going to be your win.”
Trump posted the message on social media. Rutte stated he wasn’t embarrassed and that it was all true.
After the assembly, Trump stated he got here to the summit seeing it as a political chore, however he was leaving satisfied that the assembled leaders love the alliance, their very own international locations and, principally importantly, the US.
He referred to as NATO leaders a “good group of individuals” and stated that “nearly each one in every of them stated ‘Thank God for the US.'”
