Sweden, Newest NATO Member, Backs Trump’s Call for Boost of Defense Spending

Sweden, the 32nd member of the North Atlantic Treaty, is backing President Trump’s push to spend more on defense to counter the Russian bear. Other nations are joining the call, building pressure on alliance capitals to more than double the treaty’s target of spending 2 percent of GDP on defense.On Sunday, five leaders in the European Union held a press conference on defense at Finland, which joined the treaty following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. “What do you think,” the leaders were asked, “about Trump wanting European countries to increase their defense spending to 5 percent?”“We need to do that,” Sweden’s prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, said. “We can’t expect the U.S. to be the main sponsor of European defense.” The prime minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, agreed, Politico reported. “The 2% figure is history,” he said. “It will be higher than 2%.”Finland’s prime minister, Petteri Orpo, joined the united front. “Trump was right,” he said, “when he told European countries to increase their defense spending in 2018; he is right again.” Earlier this month, NATO’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, put Dutch weight behind the funding drive.“In 2025,” Mr. Rutte said, Russia will pour “7 to 8 percent of GDP, if not more,” into its military. “That’s a third of Russia’s state budget, and the highest level since the Cold War.” They’re “producing huge numbers of tanks, armored vehicles, and ammunition.”The buildup, Mr. Rutte said, “all points in one clear direction: Russia is preparing for long-term confrontation with Ukraine and with us.” He noted that other geopolitical foes — Communist China, Iran, and North Korea — are helping the Kremlin get on a war footing.When the North Atlantic Treaty was written in 1949, European members were decimated by World War II while America was at the peak of its military and economic power. The 2 percent figure reflected that reality. Yet even the defeated nations, Germany and Italy, are long since back on their feet.President-elect Trump views the 2 percent figure as a “bill,” but there’s no penalty for failing to reach that bar. Germany, the third-largest economy in the world, spent 2.12 percent in 2024 but just 1.6 percent in 2023. The average this year so far is 2.17 percent, with eight nations falling short of the minimum.Unhappy with NATO, France threatened a pull out in 1966. It ended up abandoning the alliance’s integrated military structure before returning in 2009. Members know that Trump can leave, too. Plus, Article V, the collective defense clause, doesn’t obligate the American president to mobilize a military response to an invasion.“While summarized as ‘an attack on one is an attack on all,’” as I wrote in January for the Sun, “Article V gives members wide flexibility … to take ‘such action as it deems necessary, including,’ but not requiring, ‘the use of armed force.’”The December 2022 bill funding the Department of Defense, signed by President Biden, included a safeguard for NATO preventing Trump from withdrawing. Yet the loophole in Article V would mean he could withhold or limit American support.“NATO was busted until I came along,” Trump told supporters at South Carolina in February, referring to the fact that in 2014, just three of NATO’s other members met the 2 percent threshold. By his last year in office, the number had more than tripled to ten.Trump said he told allies, “‘Everybody’s gonna pay.’ They said, ‘Well, if we don’t pay, are you still going to protect us?’ I said, ‘Absolutely not.’ They couldn’t believe the answer.” One president asked if he would defend them if they were invaded by Russia even if they “don’t pay.”“No,” Trump said he responded. “I would not protect you.” He told the leader of that country — which he described as “big” but did not name — “In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You got to pay. You got to pay your bills.”The statement caused outrage in Washington and in treaty capitals, shaking allies out of their complacency. Now, Sweden and others are not just agreeing with Trump, they’re advocating for his position. It’s a win for everyone in the alliance and for peace, deterring attacks by building a bear with claws sharper than Moscow’s.

Sweden, Newest NATO Member, Backs Trump’s Call for Boost of Defense Spending

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