Asked about his commitment to Nato’s Article 5, Trump says:
We are with them all the way.
Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary,told hisNatoopposite numbers over dinner that he recognised that other members of the alliance had “really stepped up”in agreeing to a headline defence spending target of 5% of GDP.
The senior administration officialchose to speak at the end of the informal gatheringaccording to his British counterpart, after other ministers had spoken, to thank the other 31 allies for making a commitment that he said was “historic”.
The account of events was given byJohn Healey, the UK defence secretary, who said Hegseth had been listed to speak first buthe “put aside his scripted speech” so he could reflect and sum up the discussion at the end.
“Essentially he was saying, what I recognise here tonight, is that Nato, you nations, have stepped up, andthis 5% benchmark that we’re going to agree tomorrow is really historic,” Healey said in a briefing to journalists.
Thecomments will be interpreted positively by Nato allies, coming after Hegseth said in February that the US was no longer “primarily focused” on European security though all eyes remain on US presidentDonald Trump.
In response, Healey said “all the Nato Defence Ministers, including me” recognise that it was down to the UK and other allies “to do the hard yards now, not just in 10 years’ time” for turning the spending pledge into delivery.
As leaders take part in the official welcome photo opp with Dutch prime ministerDick Schoofand Nato’s secretary generalMark Rutte, let’s go to our defence and security editorDan Sabbaghwho is on the ground in The Hague for a quick update.
Asked about his meeting with Ukraine’sVolodymyrZelenskyy,Trumpsays:
We’ll discuss the obvious. We’ll discuss his difficulties. He’s got a little difficulty. Zelenskyy, he’s a nice guy. I mean, I’m going to meet him today. I don’t know. I assume we’re going to be discussing Ukraine.
He also adds:
I have spoken to Putin a lot, and he actually was very nice.
The briefing has now pivoted to Iran, with US defence secretaryPete Hegsethconfirming there is a leak investigation into the report on the US strike on Iranian targets, and Trump claiming it put the Iranian nuclear programme back “by decades” – and Rutte praising him for the attack again.
Trump also suggests he would “sure” attack again if needed.
Asked about his commitment to Nato’s Article 5, Trump says:
We are with them all the way.
There’s a brief confusion asTrumpappears to think there will be a vote on the new 5% target.
Ruttejumps in:
“Actually, today we will decide unanimously to do that’s my absolute conviction.”
Trump jokes that maybe they should talk about it “until the vote … because sometimes, you know, strange things happen,” but Rutte reassures him it’ll be fine.
US presidentDonald Trumpis now speaking alongside Nato secretary generalMark Rutte.
He acknowledges the jump in defence spending, as he says:
“I’ve been asking them to go up to 5% for a number of years, and they’re going up to 5%, that’s a big [jump] from 2% and a lot of people didn’t even pay the 2% soI think that’s going to be a very big news.”
Responding, Rutte continues his charm offensive as he says:
I want to state it here,without President Trump, this would not have happened.
He goes on:
“With 5%, the Europeans and the Canadians will equalise their defence spending with the United States.
So this is not about American taxpayers paying more; this is about Europeans, Canadians paying more.
And again,this would not have happened [without Trump].I’m really saying this here, and some people might criticise me, but then when I speak with them, they all say, yes, you are right.”
German chancellorFriedrich Merzfocuses on the increase in spending as he says today’s decision will“provideNatowith significantly better resources in future.”
He says that member states agree that“the threat situation has changed”with Russia, and stresses that the defence spending ramp up is not “to do anyone a favour", but … based on our own conviction thatNato as a whole, and especially the European part, must do more.”
Greek prime ministerKyriakos Mitsotakisalso appears to take aim at Spain as he makes averypointed remark about fairness withinNato.
He says:
I think it is very encouraging that we have all agreed to a significant increase in our defence spending. Ihave been a strong proponent of the need for Europe to step up our military spendingand take more ownership over our own collective defence.
Greece is a country which is currently spending more than 3% on defence, and we have consistently exceeded the 2% threshold, even during the very difficult times of the economic crisis.
He adds:
The point of an alliance is to make sure that there is a fair burden sharing, andthat there is no sense that certain countries are sort of free riding on the defence commitment of other countries.
So I think it is important to understand that these targets I think should be binding and they should be binding for all 32 members of the alliance.
Ouch.
Poland’s presidentAndrzej Dudasays“everything indicates that there is unity betweenNatocountries, especially on that most important issue of increasing spending.”
He also stressesthe importance of supporting the eastern flank of Nato, andextending strategic pipelines across Europe, as well asthe need for continued support for Ukraine.
He then says thatthe shift in Nato’s policy comes in response to “Russian imperialist policy”and says he’s been a long time advocate of raising the defence spending over the years.
He says there are two fundamental elements of Nato, the alliance’s unity andArticle 5,and insists“there is absolutely no discussion over it.”
On Trump, he says“the position of the president of the US is the strongest in the alliance,”as he praises his leadership within Nato.
He also says that“Russia is exhausted”by its aggression of Ukraine.
“I don’t expect that Russia is ready to attack another country now, but in the future, it’s a real risk,”he says, and stresses its “absolutely necessary” to ramp up defence spending in response.
Belgian prime ministerBart De Wevercomes in somewhat questioningSpain’sclaim that it can reach theNatotargets by spending less than 5% of GDP on defence.
He says:
“I would like to underline that there are no opt outs whatsoever. Everybody accepts the same text. It’s a matter of interpretation. You have to do the 5% and the capabilities.
And the interpretation of Spain is that they can realise the capabilities without doing three and a half percent of the GDP. This remains to be seen.”
He then adds that more broadly the increase the core defence spending to 3.5% within the next 10 years is “realistic.”
Asked about Trump, he sidesteps that question and says:
“I don’t think it is wise to comment on that, but it is the reality that we face.
So as Europeans, we should realise that our long break from history is over and that we take have to take our own responsibility for the security of our own continent in a very difficult time.”
Finnish presidentAlexander Stubbalso says the summit will be “historic” as he explains it marks the momentNato“goes back to the roots of the Alliance in other words, functioning as a collective comprehensive defence system to deter Russia.”
Asked if he has any concerns about Article Five, he says:
“I do not have any concerns about that.”
Someone tries to push him further, asking how many times will he need to play golf with Trump to make him stop making ambiguous comments about Article 5.
“I don’t think President Trump is relativising Article Five and golf is a good way to discuss business.”
He then goes on to say:
I think we’rewitnessing a change in the world order.
It’s very similar to the moment that we witnessed after the first world war, the second world war and the cold war.
And of course, after the first world war, we got it wrong. After the second world war, the balance was more or less right.And after the cold war, I think we got intellectually lazy.
Nowwe need to sort things out, understand that the time of Western dominance is over.We’re moving towards a world which is more transactional, which is more multipolar, and which is more disorderly. And this means, at least for a country like Finland that we need to have close allies, and we need to work on building up our security and defence.
Norwegian prime ministerJonas Gahr Støresays on arrival that “the length of this meeting is really not indicative” of its historic significance.
“We areconnecting the dots in Natoby getting the resources necessary to deliver on the capabilities,” he says.
“The important part now is the percentage is set, but it’s only important if we’re able to have that translated into the capabilities, so we have to invest in the right equipment that goes together,” he says.
He adds thatNorway wants Nato to look at the Arctic and the High North, as “we are the eyes and ears of Nato, next to [our] neighbour, Russia.”
He also says that“we need to be talking about [our] common effort to support Ukraine.”
Asked about how to deal with US presidentDonald Trump, he says it’s just important to remember we are all allies.
He ends by saying:
“I think the US is 100% behind Nato obligations and Article Five.”
Heads of state and government from32Natomember countriesare gathering inThe Haguethis morning fora summit seeking to project unity and resolve in the face of growing security challenges from Russia and China.
On paper,the plan is clear: formalise a new defence spending target of 5% of GDP and demonstrate that European allies are stepping up.
But, as often these days,uncertainty looms.
US presidentDonald Trumphas already stirred some unease ahead of the summit byappearing to distance himself from Nato’s critical Article 5,which commits members to collective defence.
His informal chat with reporters on board Air Force One have injected tension into what was intended as a carefully choreographed show of unity, with Trump simply “flying into another big success.”
Is this just Trump keeping his allies on their toes or a signal of deeper shifts in US foreign policy, amid concerns about the future of US military presence in Europe?
Answers may come soon, as leaders begin their discussions this morning. We should hear from Trump himself within the next hour.
We will bring you all the key lines here.
It’sWednesday, 25 June 2025, it’sJakub Krupahere, and this isEurope Live.
Good morning.