Major decisions in The Hague
The North Atlantic Alliance remains united and will be better funded, as member states have agreed to increase defense budgets.
Elena Enache, 26.06.2025, 14:00
Never hesitating to use big words, American President Donald Trump says that the decision of NATO member countries to increase defense budgets is a monumental victory for the United States, for Europe and the Western civilization. At the allied summit in The Hague, in the Netherlands, commentators say, Trump got what he wanted, that is for Europeans and Canadians to increase their defense spending to 5% of Gross Domestic Product, compared to the current average of 2%. This was the main objective of the summit, although the final declaration gives priority, from the first paragraph, to reconfirming the commitment to collective defense – all for one, one for all – a fundamental principle for the Alliance, but often questioned by the American president.
One point obtained by the European allies is the mention of Russia as a long-term threat to the North Atlantic area. European political leaders need the public opinion’s support in their countries to increase defense budgets, a measure not necessarily popular, so the Russian threat had to be explicitly mentioned, analysts say.
Romania has assumed NATO’s new objective of increasing military spending by 2035, but President Nicuşor Dan specified that the target will be discussed in the next year and a half, after the eventual balancing of the economy, currently undermined by a record budget deficit for a EU member state. At the summit, Romania reiterated its concern about the hybrid risks to which the neighboring Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet, majority Romanian-speaking) is exposed, in a decisive electoral year for its European path. President Nicuşor Dan: “I thanked the allies who are taking part in operations in Romania and I reaffirmed once again that the Black Sea region is important. I reaffirmed support for Ukraine, saying that Ukraine is linked to the security of NATO’s entire Eastern Flank and I emphasized the importance of the parliamentary elections in the Republic of Moldova, due at the end of September.”
On the other hand, President Dan said that he discussed with his American counterpart, Donald Trump, only “matters of courtesy.” He specified that he spoke more with the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, who extended his congratulations on the last month’s elections. “I think we are on a normal path”, President Dan said about the relationship between Romania and the United States. “We have a military collaboration, we have a strategic partnership, we have American companies in Romania (…) A relationship that we must develop”, President Dan concluded. (EE)
