A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that member countries of NATO must commit at least 2 percent of their national gross domestic product to national defense spending to hold leadership or benefit at the expense of those countries who meet their obligations.
This is a nonbinding Senate resolution (S. Res. 75) expressing a sense of the Senate that NATO member countries should commit at least 2 percent of their GDP to national defense spending. The resolution frames 2% as a floor (not a ceiling) and argues that failing to meet this commitment undermines mutual defense capabilities and U.S. and allied leadership. It proposes that individuals from noncompliant NATO members should be barred from holding key NATO leadership positions and that noncompliant countries should not host major NATO meetings or summits that confer economic benefit or international recognition. The resolution is intended as political guidance and moral suasion rather than a new law; it is introduced and referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, with no enforceable provisions yet in statute.
Key Points
- 12% target as a floor: Reiterates NATO’s 2% of GDP defense spending commitment as the minimum (not a ceiling) and notes that 23 of 31 member states spent at least 2% in 2024.
- 2Leadership eligibility restriction: Claims that any NATO citizen from a member state not meeting the 2% defense-spending commitment should be barred from holding major NATO leadership roles, including Secretary General, Deputy Secretary General, Assistant Secretaries General, the NATO Spokesperson, and high-level uniformed command positions (2-star and above).
- 3Hosting restriction: States that noncompliant members should not host significant NATO meetings or summits (at ministerial level or higher) that provide substantial economic benefit or international recognition, such as the NATO Summit, meetings of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs, NATO Parliamentary Assembly sessions, and the NATO Youth Summit.
- 4Policy rationale: Cites the historical commitment and alleged ongoing impact of noncompliance on NATO’s defense spending capability, including a claimed loss of trillions in defense spending capability since 2000.
- 5Timing/aspiration: Urges that member countries meet the 2% commitment or have a credible plan to do so before the opening session of the NATO Summit in The Hague in June 2025.