Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda warned on Friday that NATO risks falling apart if some member states fail to meet the alliance's defense spending target of 5% of GDP, reports „Politico“, reports News.bg.
„It would be highly controversial or contradictory if some countries strive to achieve this goal in the coming years, while others remain at 2% or 2.5% levels,“ Nauseda said in Berlin at a joint press conference with the leaders of Latvia and Estonia and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
He added that such a development would split the alliance into two or three groups, which would be detrimental to the collective defense spirit and solidarity within NATO.
NATO Allies, with the exception of Spain, agreed at the Hague summit last year to reach the target of 5% of GDP on defense by 2035. However, many European countries are still below this level and face budget constraints, which calls into question the implementation of the commitment.
The Baltic states - Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia - are among the countries that allocate the highest share of GDP to defense. Their leaders discussed coordinating their positions in Berlin ahead of the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara.
European leaders are trying to convince US President Donald Trump to increase their military spending, amid concerns about Washington's commitment to the alliance.
Trump said the United States spends significantly more on NATO than other members and described European defense spending as “absurd“.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his country was making progress on its commitments and planned a significant increase in the military budget.