Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced on Friday that Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia have agreed to commit 5% of their countries’ gross domestic product to NATO’s defense spending.
The agreement to do so marks an increase for the Baltic States, which had exceeded the alliance’s previously agreed threshold of 2%, established in 2014. Currently, Estonia spends 3.43% of its GDP on NATO defense efforts. Latvia is at 3.15% and Lithuania is at 2.85%, according to NATO’s defense spending tracker. All three are among the NATO countries that contribute the highest percentage to defense. The pivot to 5% comes as President Donald Trump has called for European countries to contribute more to the alliance’s defense spending instead of mainly relying on expenditures from the U.S.
Hegseth’s announcement
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