"A monumental win." With his characteristic emphasis, United States President Donald Trump expressed satisfaction with the conclusions of the annual North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit, which ended on Wednesday, June 25, in The Hague (Netherlands). Indeed, the US achieved what it had come for: a commitment by Europeans and Canadians to increase their military spending.

To satify Trump's demands, however, the NATO allies had to make concessions. Their military spending will have to reach 3.5% of their gross domestic product by 2035. Yet while the US president was insisting on a 5% threshold, NATO strategists added a supplementary, artificial target of 1.5%, which could comprise a broad range of security-related expenses (including police, justice, infrastructure, etc.).

To avoid the lack of discipline shown with the previous target, 2% of GDP dedicated to defense spending, which NATO set in 2014, the allied countries also agreed to submit to stricter requirements. "Annual plans showing a credible, incremental path" for increased investments will need to be submitted every year, and a clause to review spending under the plan was introduced for 2029, the year NATO is scheduled to revise its defense plans.

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