US President Donald Trump has praised NATO’s newly announced defence spending commitment as “a big win” for the United States, Europe, and what he called “Western civilisation.” 

His comments came shortly after alliance members agreed to raise their collective defence and security spending target to 5% of GDP by 2035 — a significant leap from the current 2% benchmark.

The announcement was made in The Hague Declaration, a joint statement released during a high-level summit in the Netherlands. The declaration not only raises the bar for military expenditure but also reaffirms NATO’s commitment to collective defence under Article 5 of its founding treaty — the principle that an attack on one ally is considered an attack on all.

“We reaffirm our ironclad commitment to collective defence as enshrined in Article 5,” the statement read, seemingly addressing concerns sparked by Trump’s earlier remarks. En route to the summit, the former president questioned the interpretation of NATO’s cornerstone clause, saying, “There’s numerous definitions of Article 5, you know that, right?”

Despite raising eyebrows, Trump later welcomed the spending pledge, arguing it validated his long-standing push for NATO allies to shoulder more of the financial burden.

Trump said: “I stand with it. That’s why I’m here. If I didn’t stand with it, I wouldn’t be here. This is a big win for the US, for Europe, and for the survival of Western civilisation.”

The current 2% goal — which applies to core defence spending only — has been met by just over half of NATO’s 32 members in 2024. The new 5% target broadens the definition of defence and security investment to include infrastructure, cyber security, military mobility, and resilience against hybrid threats, according to NATO sources.

Melissa Enoch

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