Defense expenditures by NATO members in Europe and Canada surged by nearly twenty percent in 2024, totaling four hundred eighty-five billion dollars, or about four hundred sixty-seven and a half billion euros.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and the NATO Secretary General highlighted that while two-thirds of allies currently meet the two percent of GDP benchmark, there is a pressing need for substantially higher spending to fill capability gaps and deter potential threats from Russia.

Rutte warned that if the two percent target remains unchanged, the alliance might not be sufficiently defended in four to five years, proposing that the ultimate goal could be raised significantly above three percent of GDP. The defense ministers from NATO’s thirty-two-member alliance are set to convene in Brussels on Thursday, with discussions anticipated to revolve around increasing defense budgets and establishing new military capability objectives ahead of a summit in late June.

Moreover, a Danish intelligence assessment has expressed concerns regarding the likelihood of a large-scale Russian attack on European NATO allies if the United States were to withdraw its support, a scenario Rutte dismissed by claiming that any such aggression would provoke a severe retaliation.

NATO allies have also been encouraged to persist in their support for Ukraine and to enhance military production in the upcoming months.