3% of GDP, followed by Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. 5% of GDP, placing it in the upper middle tier alongside countries like Finland and Germany, while Spain, Portugal, Albania, Belgium, and Canada all reached exactly 2% of GDP on defense. 3%, both having reached the 2% threshold, and the United States also had lower spending than the previous year.
In contrast, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Slovenia showed the strongest increases in absolute terms, with Luxembourg standing out with an increase of nearly 100%. 5% for broader security investments. The next NATO summit will be held in Ankara in July and is expected to focus on building production capacity in the transatlantic defense industry.
For too long, European allies and Canada relied too much on U.S. military strength. We did not take sufficient responsibility for our own security. But there has been a real shift in mindset.
It remains unclear how the new 5% target by 2035 will be funded and enforced across NATO members, and what specific initiatives are planned for the Ankara summit to build defense industry capacity.
I am not sure we would have reached the two percent target by the end of last year without President Trump.