The defence ministers of Germany, France, Britain, Italy, and Poland — Europe’s five largest military spenders — said they plan to keep investing more in defence but that meeting US President-elect Donald Trump’s NATO spending target would be tough.

The ministers met near Warsaw on Monday, a week after Trump had called for members of the military alliance to spend 5% of GDP on defence, up from the current 2% goal.

This meeting, the second in a newly established format initiated after Trump’s re-election in November, focused on maintaining support for Ukraine and enhancing its domestic weapons production as European leaders brace for potential shifts in US policy.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius opened the talks by affirming the group’s commitment for peace in Ukraine, one in which Kyiv retains sovereignty over its future. There are concerns in Europe that Trump could push Ukraine to make unacceptable concessions to Russia.

The defence ministers discussed Trump’s recent demand for NATO allies to raise defence spending to 5% of GDP, a level currently unmatched by any NATO country. Poland, the closest to meeting the goal, is projected to approach 5% this year.

Pistorius, however, questioned the utility of focusing solely on percentages.

“I just think that a statistic debate about percentages doesn’t really help us if it doesn’t ultimately lead to the implementation of what NATO has agreed upon together, what the goals must be,” he said.

He noted that for Germany to allocate 5% of GDP to defence would mean spending over 40% of its national budget, calling it an unrealistic target.

Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto also highlighted his concerns.

“Increasing defence spending at a time of economic crisis is more complicated than at other times,” he stated. 

“If we combine the two, that is, if we make the European defence industry one of the ways in which we can revive the economy, we can combine the two,” he added. 

Meanwhile, French Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu stressed that increased spending should not be limited to military purposes but should address broader security concerns such as cyberattacks and terrorism.

“The situation is worse than during the Cold War,” Lecornu warned, pointing to the militarisation of digital spaces.

“And you can see that we are in a world in which we can be defeated without having been invaded. And that means that the responsibility for the defence of our countries will go well beyond military issues alone,” he added. 

Separately on Monday, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that member states will have to find ways to increase joint purchases and use existing infrastructure, or face an increase in defence spending of up to 3.7% of their GDP.

ADVERTISEMENT

NATO’s 32 members have pledged to meet the target of spending 2% of their GDP on defence, but only 24 have met the threshold.

Additional sources • AP