U.S. Pressures Europe to Spend 5 Percent of GDP on Defense

The United States remains committed to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, but European members must agree to massively ramp up their defense spending targets, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday.

Many in Europe have doubted U.S. President Donald Trump’s commitment to nato because of his efforts to negotiate a peace deal with Russia over Ukraine. This skepticism intensified with Trump’s latest trade tariffs on the Continent.

Rubio insisted Trump is not against nato but wants countries to reach a target of 5 percent of gross domestic product in military spending.

We do want to leave here with an understanding that we are on a pathway, a realistic pathway to every single one of the members committing and fulfilling a promise to reach up to 5 percent spending, and that includes the United States.
—Marco Rubio

Europe responds: European nations have been rushing to show the world that they are stepping up their military capabilities. Germany has led the way, passing a law that allows it to borrow without limits for defense.

• Poland said it will spend 4.7 percent of gdp on defense this year.
• Lithuania and Estonia have both committed to reaching the 5 percent target in 2026 and continuing to increase it until at least 2030.
• Denmark plans to allocate more than 3 percent of gdp to defense over the next two years.
• France, the only European nation with its own nuclear bombs, has offered to share that nuclear umbrella with the rest of the continent.

Great things are happening. Over the last couple of months, we literally see hundreds of billions of euros rolling in. [T]his is probably the biggest increase in defense spending here on the European side of nato since the end of the Cold War. But we still need more.
—Mark Rutte, nato secretary general

Backfire: The Trumpet has warned repeatedly that Trump’s push on European nations to spend more on defense will backfire dramatically. In February, Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote:

[I]f these countries spend 5 percent of gross domestic product on their military, that would make Europe a military superpower. Germany alone would be spending $200 billion—more than Russia, which is at war!

Has the U.S. really thought this through?

Prophecy shows a militaristic and unified Europe will rise soon and turn against America. To learn about those prophecies, read “Up In Arms” in our latest Trumpet magazine.