Defence Policy
5% of GDP on Defence? Poland Doesn’t Say “No”
Photo. Jarosław Ciślak/Defence24.pl
Last week, Donald Trump stated that NATO countries should spend 5% of their GDP on defence. The U.S. President-elect’s proposal was met with a positive response from Poland’s Minister of Defence.
Poland may support Donald Trump’s idea of increasing NATO member states« defence spending to 5% of GDP. In an interview with the “Financial Times”, Minister of National Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz declared that the Warsaw government could serve as a “transatlantic bridge” between Trump and European members of the North Atlantic Alliance.
Motivating Factor
According to Kosiniak-Kamysz, setting an ambitious goal of allocating 5% of GDP to defence could motivate member states that have yet to surpass the 2% threshold.
“Achieving the goal set by Donald Trump will take another decade, but I believe he shouldn’t be criticized for setting ambitious goals. Without them, some countries will continue debating whether increased spending is truly necessary.” — Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Defence
Here, a question emerges whether countries struggling to exceed 2% of GDP level of defence expenditure can be motivated to spend more. This includes Spain, Germany, or Italy.
Defence Expenditure to Increase
Trump’s statement is the latest in a series of comments suggesting a significant increase in NATO defence spending. In December 2024, reports emerged that during this year’s NATO summit in The Hague, a decision might be made requiring NATO members to spend at least 3% of GDP on defence by 2030.