A: Hey, have you heard about the big news with NATO?
B: Nah, what's going on?
A: Well, they're having a meeting in Brussels right now! Trump is pressuring other countries to increase their defense spending.
B: Oh, really? How much are they supposed to spend?
A: He wants them to reach 5% of their GDP, but the NATO chief has suggested a more realistic goal of increasing it to 3.5% by 2032 and adding an extra 1.5% for security-related expenses.
B: Wow, that's a big jump! Do you think they can do it?
A: Well, the NATO chief is pretty confident, but some officials think the timeframe might be too ambitious. They're hoping to reach an agreement by the end of this month at their summit meeting in the Netherlands.
B: That sounds like a lot of discussions! I wonder what they'll decide.
----------------
The defense chiefs of NATO member countries are set to hold final-stage talks on a timeline for increasing defense spending.
A meeting of NATO defense ministers opened on Thursday in the Belgian capital of Brussels. US President Donald Trump is pushing alliance members to raise their defense spending to 5 percent of GDP.
Ahead of the meeting, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said: "You can't freeload. You need to spend." He added that NATO "cannot and will not be reliance on America in a world of a lot of threats."
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said European and Canadian allies are expected to step up defense spending. He said, "I'm pretty confident we will get there as a result."
To meet the 5 percent target, the NATO chief has proposed that member nations increase their defense spending to 3.5 percent of GDP, with an additional 1.5 percent allocated to security-related expenditures by 2032.
Some NATO officials suggest that timeframe is unrealistic.
NATO aims to reach an agreement at a summit meeting scheduled to take place in the Netherlands late this month.
B: Nah, what's going on?
A: Well, they're having a meeting in Brussels right now! Trump is pressuring other countries to increase their defense spending.
B: Oh, really? How much are they supposed to spend?
A: He wants them to reach 5% of their GDP, but the NATO chief has suggested a more realistic goal of increasing it to 3.5% by 2032 and adding an extra 1.5% for security-related expenses.
B: Wow, that's a big jump! Do you think they can do it?
A: Well, the NATO chief is pretty confident, but some officials think the timeframe might be too ambitious. They're hoping to reach an agreement by the end of this month at their summit meeting in the Netherlands.
B: That sounds like a lot of discussions! I wonder what they'll decide.
----------------
The defense chiefs of NATO member countries are set to hold final-stage talks on a timeline for increasing defense spending.
A meeting of NATO defense ministers opened on Thursday in the Belgian capital of Brussels. US President Donald Trump is pushing alliance members to raise their defense spending to 5 percent of GDP.
Ahead of the meeting, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said: "You can't freeload. You need to spend." He added that NATO "cannot and will not be reliance on America in a world of a lot of threats."
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said European and Canadian allies are expected to step up defense spending. He said, "I'm pretty confident we will get there as a result."
To meet the 5 percent target, the NATO chief has proposed that member nations increase their defense spending to 3.5 percent of GDP, with an additional 1.5 percent allocated to security-related expenditures by 2032.
Some NATO officials suggest that timeframe is unrealistic.
NATO aims to reach an agreement at a summit meeting scheduled to take place in the Netherlands late this month.
Similar Readings (5 items)
NATO chief says 23 members will meet 2-percent defense spending target this year
US urges Asian allies to spend 5% of GDP on defense
NATO countries to boost defense spending to 5% of GDP
NATO leaders meet to discuss increase in defense spending, support for Ukraine
Pressed by Trump, NATO foreign ministers to discuss raising defense spending
Summary
NATO defense chiefs are discussing a timeline for increasing defense spending, with the US urging allies to meet a 5% GDP target. The NATO chief has proposed a more realistic goal of 3.5% by 2032 and an additional 1.5% for security expenses. European and Canadian allies are expected to contribute
Statistics
326
Words1
Read CountDetails
ID: a6301649-9ed3-4923-b69a-d73ee4e4a2ee
Category ID: nhk
URL: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20250605_19/
Date: June 5, 2025
Created: 2025/06/06 07:06
Updated: 2025/12/08 03:48
Last Read: 2025/06/06 12:20