[Source/Observer Network Chen Sijia] The NATO summit is scheduled to take place next week in the Netherlands, with one of the core proposals being the formulation of new military expenditure standards, requiring member states to increase defense spending to 5% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, Spain has already clearly rejected this plan, and Italy has recently raised questions about the existence of NATO.

According to a report by the Italian ANSA News Agency on June 20, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crescito stated during a break at a meeting that the United States and the European Union are no longer "the center of the world," and NATO must adapt to changes in the international landscape. He believes that NATO should establish relations with countries in the Global South; otherwise, it will lose its raison d'être.

US President Donald Trump has consistently demanded that NATO countries increase their defense spending, but he also claims that long-term support from the US does not need to meet the new target of 5%. BBC reports that since NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg does not want to quarrel with the US, Trump is likely to get what he wants at the NATO summit, although many NATO member states may not immediately take action to meet his demands.

"The center has shifted, NATO no longer has a reason to exist."

Crescito said on June 20 at a meeting in Padua, Italy: "NATO no longer has a reason to exist. In the past, the Atlantic was the center of the world, but now centers exist all over the world. Before, the US and Europe were the centers of the world, but now all other regions are important too, and we must build relationships with them... We often talk as if we were still living 30 years ago, but everything has changed."

He pointed out that while the US still holds significant influence worldwide, Europe has become less important. "We talk about Europe as if it were very important. It may have been so in the past if Europe could assume another political role - if it could formulate foreign or defense policies, then it might have become important. But the era of Europe has ended."

Crescito believes that NATO must adapt to changes in the international situation. "If the original purpose of NATO's establishment was to protect peace and collective defense, then it needs to engage in dialogue with the Global South to undertake this mission and become a completely different organization. Otherwise, we will be unable to achieve our goal of ensuring security within recognized rules."

Italian Defense Minister Crescito Visual China

The European edition of Politico noted that Italy has historically been one of the NATO countries with the lowest military expenditures, with defense spending accounting for 1.49% of GDP in 2024. In April, Italian Minister of Economy and Finance Giancarlo Giorgetti announced that Italy plans to reach the NATO target this year by increasing defense spending to 2% of GDP.

"Trump will get what he wants, but..."

The NATO summit is scheduled to take place on June 24-25 in The Hague, Netherlands, with one of the core proposals being the formulation of new military expenditure standards. It is expected that NATO leaders will approve a proposal requiring member states to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP.

US President Donald Trump has consistently demanded that European NATO members increase defense spending to 5%, but he believes that the US does not need to comply with this standard. Trump told reporters on June 20: "I don't think we need to, but they do. We have long supported NATO, so I think we don't need to, but I believe other NATO countries absolutely should do so."

Currently, US defense spending accounts for 3.4% of GDP, while most other NATO countries' percentages are slightly above 2%. Politico reports that so far, only Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have committed to raising defense spending to 5%, but it is expected that most other NATO countries will approve this new standard at the NATO summit.

BBC points out that to demonstrate NATO's "unity," the agenda of the NATO summit is usually prearranged, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has set the core agenda of this summit: avoiding quarrels with the largest member state, the US. Trump wants European countries to agree to increase defense spending, and although there will inevitably be some "compromises and evasions" at the summit, he clearly intends to achieve his goal.

On March 13, Trump met with Stoltenberg Visual China

Ed Arnold, an expert at the Royal United Services Institute, a UK think tank, said that Trump likes to be the focus of attention and may claim that he has "the ability to force European countries to act."

However, not all NATO member states are willing to increase defense spending. BBC reports that actually, many NATO member states may struggle to achieve the new target. Currently, there are still a few NATO countries that have not reached the old target of 2% of GDP for defense spending.

Stoltenberg's new proposal includes a certain compromise, requiring member states to increase core defense spending to 3.5% of GDP, along with an additional 1.5% for "defense-related expenditures." However, the definition of "defense-related expenditures" is very vague, even possibly including costs such as bridges, roads, railways, and other infrastructure construction, which may render this expenditure meaningless. Arnold believes that this will inevitably lead to more "creative accounting."

Former Italian Prime Minister Calls for Anti-NATO Conference

Italy and Spain have long been considered the main forces opposing the 5% target among NATO countries. Regarding NATO's military expenditure requirements, former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has issued an open letter, planning to invite European leaders who oppose increasing military spending to attend an anti-NATO conference in The Hague, the location of the NATO summit, the day before the summit begins. It is expected that the Dutch Socialist Party will organize this conference.

In his letter, Conte wrote: "I call on all European political representatives who oppose this reckless arms race... and believe in the values of defending peace and dialogue between nations."

The Five Star Movement led by Conte revealed that participating parties include Germany's Die Linke alliance, the Belgian Workers' Party, the Portuguese Communist Party, the Progressive Party of the People of Cyprus, the Czech "Enough!" Party, Latvia's For Stability Party, and Greece's Free Lines Party. The only confirmed attending governing party is the United We Can Party of the Spanish ruling coalition.

Spain is one of the NATO countries with the lowest military expenditures. Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez sent a letter to Stoltenberg on the 19th, clearly rejecting the target of increasing military expenditure as a percentage of GDP. Sanchez stated in the letter that for Spain, the target of 5% of GDP is not only unreasonable but counterproductive, which will make Spain further away from reasonable spending.

Since the first term of Trump's presidency, overall defense spending by NATO member states has increased significantly. Some member states far exceeded the 2% target, but many have not met it for years. In 2018, when Trump criticized NATO the most fiercely, only six member states, including the US, out of 32 NATO members met the 2% target; by 2024, this number had risen to 23.

Among those exceeding the target are Poland, Estonia, the US, Latvia, and Greece, but major economies like Canada, Spain, and Italy still fall short.

The UK and Germany have expressed support for increasing defense spending, but it remains unclear whether they can reach consensus on specific timelines. The British government stated earlier this month that its goal is to increase defense spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 and aims to increase it to 3% during the next parliamentary session. Germany has lagged behind in defense spending, reaching the 2% target only in 2024.

Meanwhile, NATO estimates that Canada's defense spending accounted for 1.3% of GDP in 2024, lower than Italy, Portugal, and even Montenegro.

Previously, some British media pointed out that raising the military expenditure target to 5% would mean that many NATO member states would need to more than double their current defense spending, causing a heavy economic burden. The Daily Telegraph calculated that even raising it to 3.5% would cost billions of pounds and force member states to sacrifice domestic budgets.

This article is an exclusive contribution from Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7518360640126370367/

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