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 came during a “quadrilateral meeting” at the Pentagon with the defense ministers from each country: Hanno Pevkur from Estonia, Andris Spruds from Latvia, and Dovile Sakaliene from Lithuania, according to a press release. The defense secretary applauded the decision by the Baltic States to commit to the 5% threshold.
“The United States remains fully committed to NATO, and together, we’re achieving peace through strength in Europe by setting the conditions for negotiated lasting peace in Ukraine, establishing sustainable deterrence and increasing ally capabilities and interoperability,” Hegseth said.
“Your efforts to modernize and invest in new military capabilities are critical to deterring attacks and building readiness,” Hegseth added about the Baltic States’ pledge.
The Baltic States’ diplomats expressed optimism over the pledge to increase spending and stressed the importance of cooperation between the allies.
“We are allies who are willing to strengthen our common defense, and we are more than determined to continue this very close cooperation,” said Estonia’s Pevkur. “We stand up for one another, and we defend each other when it’s needed. This is what brotherhood-in-arms truly means.”
“Every one — every single one — of United States troops is one of our own in Lithuania, and we do deeply care about them,” said Lithuania’s Sakaliene. “We do deeply care about our friendship, and we consider them family.”
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She also encouraged NATO members to follow Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania’s lead and pledge to increase their defense spending to the 5% threshold.
There are 32 countries in the NATO alliance. Poland spends the highest percentage of its GDP on NATO defense spending, at 4.12%. The U.S. is second at 3.38%. However, the U.S. leads NATO in defense spending per capita at $2,239 and total defense spending at $967,707,000. As of 2024, eight of 32 NATO members are below the 2% GDP defense spending threshold.