NATO Leaders Reach Spending Agreement: Evening Briefing Europe

North Atlantic Treaty Organization leaders agreed to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP and renewed their “ironclad commitment” to mutual security in an historic move to push back against an increasingly belligerent Russia.

The decision during NATO’s high-stakes summit in The Hague is a win for US President Donald Trump who has repeatedly lambasted his European allies for underspending on security. It was also a victory for the alliance’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, who had worked for months to ensure the US renewed its Article 5 commitments on collective defense.

With all 32 members on track to meet the previous 2% ...