The UK and its NATO allies have agreed to increase spending on defence and related areas to 5% of GDP by 2035, two diplomatic sources with knowledge of the deal have told Sky News.
Ambassadors of all 32 alliance member states signed off on the new spending pledge ahead of a major summit of leaders, including Donald Trump, this week, they said.
The boost – up from a current goal of 2% of GDP – is as much about keeping the US president onside as it is about responding to what is regarded by the allies as a growing threat from Vladimir Putin and the challenge posed by China.
The target will be formally rubber stamped when the heads of state and government meet in The Hague on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The ambitious spending goal – secured following a huge amount of persuasion by Mark Rutte, the NATO secretary general – is broken down into 3.5% of GDP spent on pure defence and 1.5% of GDP spence on related areas, which can include infrastructure and cyber security.
Spain had been the last to agree.
The UK had also been slow to sign up but is understood to have been pushing for the 2035 timeframe, which would mean it is pushed beyond the next parliament.
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Sir Keir Starmer has said he has an ambition to increase UK defence spending to 3% of GDP from 2.3% by 2034.
The new 5% spending goal is the kind of level of defence spending invested by NATO allies during the Cold War.
