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Washington is as active as ever in the military bloc, the secretary of state has said
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reassured NATO member states that Washington remains committed to the military bloc, while insisting that members must drastically increase spending on their militaries.
Rubio made the remarks at NATO’s foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels on Thursday.
US President Donald Trump had previously threatened to leave NATO if bloc members failed to increase their military spending. He has called for a huge hike to 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) from the current 2% benchmark only reached by 23 of its 32 members in 2024.
“The United States is in NATO … The United States is as active in NATO as it has ever been,” Rubio told reporters, dismissing doubts about that commitment as “hysteria.”
He went on to stress that Trump was “not against NATO” but rather against a bloc “that does not have the capabilities that it needs to fulfil the obligations” under its founding treaty.
Rubio insisted that “every single” NATO member must agree on a “realistic pathway” to eventually committing 5% of its GDP to defense, however it may take years.
Eastern European members such as Estonia and Poland have supported the US demand – with Estonia already committing to 3.7% of GDP and Poland aiming for 4.7%. Leading EU economies, however, such as Italy and Germany, have criticized the 5% goal as unrealistic, citing fiscal pressures.
Trump’s NATO rhetoric has prompted European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to propose a ‘rearmament’ plan to ramp up military spending through loans. Southern European states, however, have reportedly been pushing back against the initiative, voicing “serious doubts” about taking on additional debt.
