In the shadow of Donald Trump and at the expense of geopolitical tensions, NATO leaders meet in The Hague at a historic summit with the aim of securing peace in Europe for future generations.

Donald Trump’s return to the first NATO summit after 2019 is a focal point as 32 leaders are expected to commit to the increase in defense spending to 5% of national GDP.

Prior to his arrival, NATO Secretary -General Mark Rutte sent a message to Trump praising him for his handling of the transatlantic alliance and the conflict with Iran.

“You fly to another great success in The Hague tonight. It was not easy, but we were able to sign for 5%, “Rutte said in a message that Trump himself posted on social media.

Rutte also congratulated the US president on his “decisive action in Iran”, which he described as “really excellent, something that no one else dare to do” and, as he noted, “makes us safer”.

Asked later by the BBC if he felt embarrassed by the fact that the private message was made public, Rutte replied: “No discomfort, it contained something that had to remain secret.”

The two -day NATO meeting has already been limited in time, according to reports, to adapt to Trump’s program, whose unforeseen diplomatic behavior is called upon to manage his allies.

NATO Secretary -General Mark Rutte called on European leaders to stop worrying about US commitment to the Western Alliance and to focus on increasing defense spending and Ukraine support.

As he said, the US president and the supreme leadership are “completely committed” to NATO, but is accompanied by the demand for a corresponding European contribution to military spending. Rutte pointed out that Europe and Canada have already been committed to military aid to Ukraine more than $ 35 billion for 2025.

At the same time, Russia launched new murder attacks in Ukraine. Nineteen people were killed on Tuesday, including a child, while dozens were injured. Most losses occurred in Dnipro and the neighboring city of Samar, where 17 people were killed and 160 were injured by missile blows that hit kindergartens, schools and passenger train.

Earlier, a rocket attack in the city of Sumi, northeast Ukraine, killed three people, including one child.

German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz said that all efforts to sit Russia at the negotiating table have so far failed.

Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski, who arrived in The Hague for the NATO summit, is expected to have a private meeting with Donald Trump. The two leaders had a difficult encounter at the White House in February, with the atmosphere being smoothed later when they had a constructive conversation in the Vatican on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral in April.

The increase in defense expenditure

NATO member states are expected to approve a new ambitious investment plan, raising the target for defense spending to 5% of GDP.
Although many countries are well below the target of 3.5% by 2035, the German government approved the third budget that provides for this limit to reach as early as 2029.

Specifically, Germany’s defense spending will increase from € 62.4 billion in 2025 to € 152.8 billion in 2029, partly funded through loan and special funds.

“We do not do this as a favor to the US or their president,” Chancellor Friedrich Mertz said before Budestag. “We do it based on our own perception and belief, because Russia is actively and aggressively at risk of the safety and freedom of the entire Euro -Atlantic space.”

During the two -day NATO meeting in The Hague, German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz is set to meet with British Prime Minister Sir Kir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has devoted the last nine months to trying to persuade Member States to commit to defense spending to 5% of GDP, a target that seemed unrealistic when President Trump proposed him in January 2%.

The meeting opened with an official dinner given by the King of the Netherlands, while on Wednesday there is a short meeting of less than three hours and a final joint statement of five paragraphs.

The formulation of the common commitment is crucial.

While 3.5% will cover basic defensive needs, 1.5% will concern ‘related defense costs’, a deliberately wide wording, including investment in cyber security to infrastructure.

Achieving the 3.5% goal for the “hard core” of defense will require significant adjustments for the majority of Member States. Of the 32 allies, 27 spent below 3% of GDP, while eight of them are even below the 2% threshold set in 2014.

The British government has announced that it is expected to spend 2.6% of GDP on basic defense needs over the next two years, along with 1.5% in related defense areas, such as infrastructure and cyber security.

NATO

Spain’s disagreement

At the base of the scale is Spain, with defense spending below 1.3% of GDP. To reach the 3.5% target in basic defense spending, Madrid would have to more than double its funding, something Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez rejects as “irrational and counterproductive”.

The cost is not only budgetary as such a commitment is particularly unpopular within its fragile left government while shaking.

On Sunday, Sanchez announced that Spain has achieved an exception to the goal, but NATO Secretary -General Mark Rutte immediately denied it. “NATO is fully convinced that Spain will have to spend 3.5% to achieve the goal,” he said Monday.

The opening of Sanchez has encouraged other countries to claim flexibility such as Belgium and Slovakia who have requested exception mechanisms, with Belgian Foreign Minister Maxim Prevo declaring: “Our diplomats have been working for weeks to secure mechanisms.” He also stated that he reserves the right to decide when to achieve the new goal.

Despite the resistors, all 32 countries are expected to ultimately sign the commitment.

At the same time, the arrival of leaders in The Hague was marked by a serious interruption of rail routes by Siphol Airport due to fire cables.

Dutch security minister, David Van Vell, did not rule out the possibility of sabotage: “It could be an activist team, it could be a foreign force. It can be anything. The key now is to repair the cables and restart traffic, “he told NOS.