NATO's proposal to boost military spending to 5 percent of GDP ignited waves of skepticism among member states and beyond as the alliance's annual summit kicked off Tuesday in The Hague. With a central focus on increasing defense budgets and addressing regional security challenges, the two-day NATO summit holds a controversial agenda to push member states to raise military spending to 5 percent of their GDP.
Ahead of the summit, NATO's 32 member states agreed on a proposed target to raise defense spending to 5 percent of GDP by 2035. The target includes 3.5 percent for direct military expenditures and 1.5 percent for related investments, such as infrastructure. The proposal will be submitted for approval by heads of state and government at the gathering.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington would not be bound by the 5 percent goal, though he urged other members to meet their commitments.
Despite opposition from several members, the alliance seemed determined to push forward, aiming to satisfy Washington and secure U.S. commitments to European security, according to reports.
However, analysts remain doubtful that the strategy will succeed either in implementation or in meeting U.S. expectations.
"Will this work? Personally I doubt it. It's not because we promise 5 percent defense spending in NATO that Trump will drop his economic tariffs against the European Union. I think many others in reality think it is not a feasible number, but they will pretend. I think many states, they will accept this to keep Trump happy. And they will see afterwards and they will think, well, by the time we have to discuss again, Trump's term will be ended," said Sven Biscop, director of Europe in the World program, Egmont - Royal Institute for International Relations.
Fabian Zuleeg, chief executive of the European Policy Center in Brussels, pointed to deeper issues in the U.S., suggesting that domestic challenges could overshadow any gains abroad.
"The question is whether that really helps him (Trump), because at the moment there's a lot of dissatisfaction in the U.S. I don't think that this victory over Europe is going to count very much when it comes to domestic problems such as inflation, such as all the unrest we have seen in the U.S.," said Zuleeg.
Ozlem Demirel, a European Parliament member, raised concerns citing historical and national perspectives on rearmament.
"And let me say as a German, we learn from the history that militarization, also German militarization, didn't have a good end," said Demirel. At the same time, the notion that increased military spending ensures greater security is facing growing scrutiny from experts and peace advocates alike. Many believe that accelerating the arms buildup might actually lead to heightened instability.
"We believe that the main security issue for European countries right now, it's the arms race, it's the militarization of the European Union. Because when you spend more on arms, when you spend more on war, you cannot expect everybody else to do the opposite. If you spend more on the arms race, everybody will do the same. And with more global spending on war and on the arms race, people don't get more security," said Joao Oliveira, a European Parliament member.
Skepticism mounts over NATO's defense spending agenda at annual summit
