Eduardo González
The final declaration of the NATO Summit in The Hague makes clear the commitment of “the Allies,” without further details, to “invest 5% of annual GDP” in defense and security by 2035, broken down into 3.5% for core defense needs and meeting NATO capability objectives and 1.5% to protect critical infrastructure, defend networks, ensure civil readiness and resilience, and strengthen defense innovation and the industrial base.
“We, the Heads of State and Government of the North Atlantic Alliance, have gathered in The Hague to reaffirm our commitment to NATO, the strongest Alliance in history, and to the transatlantic bond,” the declaration begins.
“We reaffirm our strong commitment to collective defense, enshrined in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty: that an attack against one is an attack against all. We remain united and steadfast in our resolve to protect our billion citizens, defend the Alliance, and safeguard our freedom and democracy,” it continues.
“United in the face of profound security threats and challenges, particularly the long-term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security and the persistent threat of terrorism, the Allies commit to investing 5% of GDP annually in core defense needs, as well as in defense and security-related spending by 2035 to ensure our individual and collective obligations, in accordance with Article 3 of the Washington Treaty,” the text states.
“Our investments will ensure that we have the forces, capabilities, resources, infrastructure, warfighting readiness, and resilience necessary to deter and defend, in line with our three core tasks: deterrence and defense, crisis prevention and management, and cooperative security,” it continues.
“Allies agree that this 5% commitment will encompass two essential categories of defense investment,” it continues. On the one hand, “Allies will allocate at least 3.5% of GDP annually, based on the agreed definition of NATO defense spending for 2035, to core defense needs and the achievement of NATO capability objectives.” To this end, “Allies agree to submit annual plans that show a credible and incremental path to achieving this objective.”
Furthermore, it continues, “Allies will allocate up to 1.5% of GDP annually to, among other things, protect our critical infrastructure, defend our networks, ensure our civil readiness and resilience, unleash innovation, and strengthen our defense industrial base.” “The trajectory and balance of spending under this plan will be reviewed in 2029, in light of the strategic environment and updated capability objectives,” it adds.
Furthermore, the Allies reaffirm “their long-standing sovereign commitments to support Ukraine, whose security contributes to ours, and, to this end, will include direct contributions to Ukraine’s defense and its defense industry when calculating Allied defense spending.”
“We reaffirm our shared commitment to rapidly expand transatlantic defense industrial cooperation and to harness emerging technology and the spirit of innovation to advance our collective security. We will work to eliminate defense trade barriers among Allies and leverage our partnerships to promote defense industrial cooperation,” the statement states.
“We express our gratitude for the generous hospitality extended to us by the Kingdom of the Netherlands. We look forward to our next meeting in Turkey in 2026, followed by a meeting in Albania,” it concludes.
