Trump Told Europe to Pay Up. Europe Is Paying, Mostly
NATO's European members are spending at record levels after years of American pressure. The frontline states are leading, some big capitals are lagging, and the bill for Europe's defense is finally landing in Europe.
By Clara Hughes
ALTAS WORLD NEWS OPINION | By Clara Hughes, Senior Features Writer | October 4, 2026 | 6-min read For decades, American presidents of both parties asked Europe to spend more on its own defense. In our view, most of the time Europe nodded politely and did little. Then, at NATO's 2025 summit in The Hague, under pressure from President Trump, the 32 allies agreed to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035 [3][14]. One year later, the bills are coming due, and most of Europe is paying. Key Takeaways NATO says European allies and Canada raised core defense spending by nearly 20% in 2025, and five allies are expected to hit the new 3.5% of GDP core target this year, years ahead of the 2035 deadline [1][2][13]. The new budget season shows the split: France is boosting its 2027 military budget to 63.4 billion euros, while Italy's cabinet cut a planned defense windfall [5][6]. In our view, this is a clear win for President Trump's hard-nosed approach to allies, though the job is far from finished. Why this matters: in our view, America has carried too much of the West's defense for too long. When allies pay their share, American families get a stronger alliance without footing the whole bill. From 2% to 5% The Hague pledge has two parts: 3.5% of GDP for core military needs and another 1.5% for broader security-related items. That 5% goal is just over double the overall level European members and Canada spent in 2025, according to Reuters [3][14]. It