UK and NATO allies agree to boost defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035 amid Russia and China threats
23 June 2025, 08:56
Britain and its NATO allies will increase spending on defence to 5 per cent of GDP by 2035, after agreeing a deal ahead of a major summit this week.
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Two diplomatic sources with knowledge of the deal told Sky News that ambassadors of the 32 alliance member states signed off on the new pledge, which will be rubber-stamped when they meet in The Hague on Tuesday.
The increase - up from the the current goal of 2 per cent of GDP - is a response to the growing threat from Vladimir Putin and the strategic challenge posed by China.
It has also been introduced to help keep Donald Trump onside, after the US president warned he would not defend a member state that fails to pay its fair share.
President Trump is therefore unlikely to be pleased with Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez's comments last week, in which he suggested his country did not need to comply with the proposed spending increase.
Mr Sanchez has already resisted pressure to expand his country's underperforming defence budget and his refusal to commit the the 5 per cent figure prompted efforts to find a compromise in the agreement's wording.
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According to reports, the language around the spending pledge has been altered from "we commit" to "allies commit".
This allows Madrid to say the commitment does not apply to all members.
"We fully respect the legitimate desire of other countries to increase their defence investment, but we are not going to do so," Mr Sanchez told Spanish television on Sunday evening.
Spain is one of the lowest defence spenders in the alliance as a ratio of GDP, allocating a mere 1.24 per cent of its GDP to defence last year.
The 5 per cent target was proposed by NATO secretary general Mark Rutte in a bid to encourage members to "equalise" their spending with that of the US.
It is broken down into 3.5 per cent of GDP spent on pure defence and 1.5% of GDP spent on related areas, which can include infrastructure and cyber security.
The UK has also faced increased pressure to raise its defence spending, with Ministry of Defence officials reportedly confused by Sir Keir Starmer's lack of clarity over future budget increases.
The Prime Minister has previously outlined his ambition to increase UK defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP from 2.3 per cent by 2034.
Britain presents itself as a leading NATO member and has pushed for the 2035 timeline, which would see the funding target met after the next parliament.
The 5 per cent goal reflects the highest defence spending levels since the Cold War.
