The President of the United States, Donald Trump, is considering a reorganization of NATO, as well as limiting the rights within the alliance of countries that do not allocate sufficient funds to defense. This was reported by The Telegraph, citing sources.
As part of the proposals being examined by the Trump administration, there is consideration of excluding allies that spend less than 5% of their GDP on defense from participating in key decision-making. This would include votes on the expansion of the alliance, joint missions, and even the activation of Article 5 — the collective defense clause.
“Our dissatisfaction with the Europeans is quite real,” a source told the newspaper. According to the source, countries that do not meet the 5% of GDP threshold should not be allowed to vote on future NATO spending.
Currently, all major decisions within the alliance are made by consensus, giving each member state equal voting rights. As The Telegraph notes, allies are likely to oppose any such changes, which could lead to increased internal divisions within NATO.
A few days ago, the alliance reported that all its members had, for the first time, reached defense spending of at least 2% of GDP — a target set back in 2014. However, no NATO country, including the United States, currently spends 5% of its GDP on defense.
Discussions on increasing defense spending and potential reforms of the alliance are expected to take place at the next NATO summit, which will be held at the end of the year in Turkey.
