UK and NATO allies agree to boost spending on defence and related areas to 5% of GDP by 2035

Ambassadors of all 32 alliance member states signed off on the new spending pledge ahead of a major summit of leaders, including Donald Trump, this week, they said.

However, Spain’s prime minister later signalled that his country, which has been resisting the push by allies to expand its already underperforming defence budget to such a level, did not need to comply.

This could become a point of friction with the US president, who has repeatedly warned that he would not defend a member state that is not, in his eyes, paying its fair share.

The boost-up from a current goal of 2% of GDP is as much about keeping the US president onside as it is about responding to what is regarded by the allies as a growing threat from Vladimir Putin and the challenge posed by China.

The target will be formally rubber-stamped when the heads of state and government meet in The Hague on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Spain remains a potential problem for alliance unity, though.

Pedro Sanchez, the Spanish prime minister, last week said he would not commit to the 5% figure. It prompted efforts to find a compromise in the wording of the agreement that will be endorsed at the summit, according to the Reuters news agency.

It reported that the language around the spending pledge had been tweaked from “we commit” to “allies commit”, allowing Madrid to say the commitment does not apply to all members.

Mr Sanchez, speaking on Spanish television on Sunday evening, said Spain would not have to achieve the new target as it would only have to spend 2.1% of GDP to meet NATO’s core military requirements.

“We fully respect the legitimate desire of other countries to increase their defence investment, but we are not going to do so,” he said.

Spain allocated a mere 1.24% of its GDP to defence last year, and is one of the lowest defence spenders in the alliance as a ratio of GDP.

The UK, like Spain, had also dragged its feet in agreeing to the new funding goal.

Unlike Madrid, though, London portrays itself as a leading member of the alliance.

Officials inside the Ministry of Defence had been scratching their heads in bemusement at the lack of clarity from Sir Keir Starmer over future increases to the UK defence budget, given the obvious direction of travel for the majority of NATO allies.

The 2035 timeframe is something the British side has specifically been pushing for as it would mean only being reached after the next parliament.

The prime minister has said he has an ambition to increase UK defence spending to 3% of GDP from 2.3% by 2034.

The new 5% spending goal is the kind of level of defence spending invested by NATO allies during the Cold War.