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NextImg:Dodgy defence maths conquers in Europe
Europe | NATO’s splurge

Dodgy defence maths conquers in Europe

The weird and wonderful calculations behind the 5% target

|4 min read

ONE PICTURE captured the mood at June’s NATO summit in The Hague. At the centre of the leaders’ post-summit group photo stood a grinning Mark Rutte, NATO’s secretary-general. He had reason to be beaming: allies had just agreed to a new target of spending 3.5% of GDP on defence, along with 1.5% on things like cyber-security and infrastructure. Contrast that with the unhappy-looking Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, standing awkwardly at the edge of the group. Spain had emerged as the lone holdout against the spending pledge.

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This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “The Trumpian tsunami”

From the September 20th 2025 edition

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