Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said that Oslo intends to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP, but that this goal will not be achieved until after 2030.
“We must do more to defend our country and contribute to the overall security of our NATO allies,” the minister said on Friday. He specified that Norway intends to allocate 3.5% of GDP to standard defence needs, including support for Ukraine, and another 1.5% of GDP to other, broader security needs.
When asked to comment on the Spanish government’s reluctance to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP, the Norwegian prime minister said that such issues would be decided by consensus at the NATO summit in The Hague on June 24-25.
Norway is the only country in Europe that can increase defence spending without increasing borrowing, thanks to its $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund. In 2022, Oslo spent 1.4% of GDP on defence, and in 2024, 2.2% and the government has announced its intention to raise this figure to 3.3% in 2025.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has previously stated that for Spain, a commitment to a target of 5% of GDP would be not only unreasonable but also counterproductive. He noted that this “would distance Spain from optimal spending and hinder the EU’s ongoing efforts to strengthen its security and defence ecosystem.”
The media reported that 23 of the 32 NATO countries are complying with the alliance’s current requirement that they spend 2% of GDP on defence.
In January, US President Donald Trump promised to ensure that NATO partners spend at least 5% of their GDP on defence. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that the June summit in The Hague would agree on a new defence investment plan and that he would propose setting a target of 5% of GDP for defence spending by member states.
