Poland supports Trump’s five percent demand for NATO

“Important wake-up call”

NATO country supports Trump’s five percent demand

Donald Trump wants to oblige NATO countries to spend five percent of GDP on defense. One country is supporting him.

Poland was the first NATO country to publicly support future US President Donald Trump’s demand to increase member states’ defense spending to five percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz told the Financial Times. Poland is ready to serve as a “transatlantic link” between Trump and Europe, the minister said. The country plans to spend 4.7 percent of its GDP on defense in 2024, well above NATO’s previous target of two percent.

In preparation for his return to the White House, Trump had increased pressure on NATO members to increase their defense spending. Currently only 23 of the 32 member states meet the two percent target, while countries such as Italy and Spain (1.5 and 1.3 percent) are well below it. Kosiniak-Kamysz called the new target “an important wake-up call” and expressed understanding for Trump’s ambitious approach: “It will take a decade to achieve this goal, but without clear guidance, some countries would continue to debate the need for increased spending.”

Poland has doubled its defense spending following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In recent years, the country has spent billions of euros on primarily US and South Korean weapons systems. According to Kosiniak-Kamysz, this is inevitable given the geographical proximity to Russia. “Our location on the map makes these investments necessary,” he said.

At the same time, Poland plans to use its current EU Council Presidency to promote greater European defense cooperation. The aim is to reserve 100 billion euros from the next EU budget for defense spending, which, according to the minister, would be possible through reallocations within existing EU funds.

Despite Poland’s leadership in defense financing, solidarity within NATO remains strained. Kosiniak-Kamysz noted that Poland would not send its own troops to Ukraine to secure a possible peace plan. He emphasized that the burden within NATO must be distributed more fairly. At the same time, he criticized countries that remain hesitant to increase their defense budgets and referred to historical misjudgments by major European states in dealing with Russia.