By Andrew Gray and Lili Bayer
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO chief Mark Rutte has proposed alliance members boost defence spending to 3.5% of GDP and commit a further 1.5% to broader security-related spending to meet Donald Trump’s demand for a 5% target, people familiar with the idea told Reuters.
Rutte’s proposal could allow the U.S. president to declare a win at a NATO summit in The Hague in June while not committing European nations and Canada to a 5% pledge on military spending that many see as politically and economically unviable.
NATO’s current defence spending goal is at least 2% of GDP, met by 22 of its 32 members. But leaders across NATO say that goal is no longer sufficient, as they see Russia as a much greater threat after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The definition of what would fall into the broader category of defence-related spending would still have to be agreed. Officials said it might include spending to upgrade roads and bridges to support the transport of heavy military vehicles.
Asked whether NATO could confirm that Rutte had made the proposal, NATO spokesperson Allison Hart did not reply directly. She said Rutte had "repeatedly said that increased defence spending is needed in order to meet the capability targets that allies will soon agree and to ensure fairer burden sharing among allies".
"This will likely involve not only higher investment in defence according to the agreed NATO definitions but also additional investment in related areas like infrastructure and resilience," Hart said in an email.
"The Secretary General is working in close consultation with allies to prepare decisions on this for our Summit in The Hague," she said.
(Reporting by Andrew Gray and Lili Bayer; Editing by Bart Meijer and Peter Graff)
