(Bloomberg) — Prime Minister Keir Starmer indicated that the UK was prepared to endorse a new NATO target committing 3.5% of members’ economic output to core defense spending, although he emphasized that key details such as the timeline were still being negotiated.
The remarks by Starmer were the closest he has come to embracing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s latest attempt to appease US President Donald Trump’s spending demands on European allies. The 3.5% target that NATO expects to adopt later this month is far more ambitious, in both magtitude and speed, than the 3% goal that the British premier set for himself earlier this year.
“Obviously, the precise wording that will be agreed at NATO is still a matter of some negotiation,” Starmer said in an interview with Bloomberg News on Friday in Downing Street. “I am absolutely determined that that summit in just over a week will be a huge success and an opportunity to show the strength together that we have as NATO allies, but also to send a very clear message to our adversaries.”
Pressed to commit to a deadline, he said: “There’s still discussions going on as to precisely what the wording and what the commitment will be.” Starmer added that he accepted “the proposition, I have advanced the proposition about the importance of NATO.”
Starmer’s remarks were the latest sign that NATO would embrace during an annual summit at The Hague on June 24-25 a new target to spend an aggregate of 5% of gross domestic product on defense. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has proposed to members that the target could be reached with a pledge to spend 3.5% on core defense activity and another 1.5% on defense-aligned projects like cybersecurity.
In the interview on Friday, Starmer argued that the UK already makes a “huge contribution” to NATO, noting how the country commits its nuclear deterrent to the alliance’s defense. The remark suggested that the UK might argue for recognition of its unique capabilities as part of any spending calculation.
Rutte, who visited Starmer in Downing Street earlier this week, has sought a deadline of 2032 to reach that goal, although some members are seeking to extend the time frame. Italy will need a decade to reach the 5%, the country’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, said on Thursday. In contrast, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has called for NATO to move the deadline forward, saying 2032 “is too late.”
“There’s been a sort of criticism that Europe hasn’t carried its fair share of the burden,” Starmer told Bloomberg. “I think that’s right. So I’ve said to European allies, we need to do more on spend, on capability and cooperation.”
–With assistance from Irina Anghel.
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