U.S. defence secretary Pete Hegseth set the scene for his meeting with NATO defence ministers on Thursday, June 5th, by declaring that alliance members will meet the target of committing 5% of each state’s GDP to defence spending.
Hegseth also stated that any genuine alliance would have to be combat-ready (which, presumably, the spending target should ensure):
We’re here to continue the work that President Trump started, which is a commitment to 5% defence spending across this alliance, which we think will happen. It has to happen by the summit at The Hague later this month.
Whereas previously the European Union reacted badly to its member states being characterised as ‘freeloaders’ in a leaked Signal private messaging group involving Hegseth, some EU leaders could now be coming round to his way of thinking.
