The NATO defence bill Europe can no longer avoid

NATO defence spending will be at the centre of next week’s summit in Ankara, where the alliance is expected to publish updated figures showing which European members have increased their military budgets enough to ease pressure from USA. President Donald Trump.- The figures, described by one diplomat to Finnish broadcaster Yle as a “list of shame”, will measure each member’s defence expenditure as a share of GDP. This year, however, fewer governments may have reason to feel exposed. According to NATO, European allies and Canada increased their combined defence expenditure by nearly 20% in real terms in 2025 compared with the previous year. Defence spending becomes the summit’s main test NATO members will meet in Ankara on Tuesday and Wednesday for a summit shaped by two connected questions: how quickly Europe can take more responsibility for its own conventional defence, and how far Washington intends to reduce its role. At the 2025 summit in The Hague, allies agreed to raise defence and security-related spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. The commitment is divided into 3.5% for core defence requirements, including troops, equipment and readiness, and up to 1.5% for broader security investments, such as cyber defence, critical infrastructure and … The post The NATO defence bill Europe can no longer avoid appeared first on NordiskPost .