BRUSSELS — NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has proposed a new dual-track defence spending framework that would raise the alliance’s target to a combined 5% of GDP—3.5% for military spending and an additional 1.5% for broader security-related infrastructure, according to sources familiar with the discussions.
The proposal is designed to meet U.S. President Donald Trump’s renewed demand for NATO members to dedicate 5% of their GDP to defence, without requiring all member states to commit to a politically and economically difficult direct military expenditure increase.
Currently, NATO’s formal benchmark is a minimum of 2% of GDP on defence spending. While 22 of NATO’s 32 members now meet or exceed that threshold, the rapidly changing security landscape—especially since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022—has prompted calls across the alliance to reassess that target.
Rutte’s plan could provide a political off-ramp by allowing Trump to claim a symbolic victory at the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague this June, while easing the pressure on European allies and Canada to immediately ramp up military budgets to 5% of GDP.
The specifics of what constitutes “security-related” spending under the additional 1.5% remain under negotiation. Officials say it could include strategic infrastructure investments such as upgrading roads, bridges, and railways to accommodate heavy military transport, as well as cyber defence and critical infrastructure resilience.
Asked to confirm the proposal, NATO spokesperson Allison Hart did not address it directly but reiterated the alliance’s need for greater investment. “Secretary General Rutte has 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,” she said.
“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 added, noting that Rutte is in close consultations with member states in preparation for the summit.
The proposal represents a strategic balancing act—addressing U.S. concerns over defence burden-sharing while providing allies with flexibility to meet their commitments through a broader lens of national security investment.