NATO’s Defense Spending: Eastern Allies Rise to the Challenge

This is the sixth part of a series examining the challenges facing the world.

As President Donald Trump urges NATO allies to take on a greater share of Europe’s defense responsibilities, nations closer to Russia are making quick strides, while some larger Western European economies are feeling the heat to catch up.

Retired Maj. Gen. Mark Montgomery, a senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, observes that this change is already evident within the alliance.

“Europe is clearly strengthening, but it’s strengthening due to geographic differences,” Montgomery explained. “If you ask me who is working the hardest, it’s obviously the Eastern Europeans.”

He highlighted that countries like the Baltics, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria are actively making efforts to fortify their defenses against Russia.

This comes as NATO plots a course toward new defense spending standards, established during the Hague summit in 2025, which mandates that member states allocate 5% of GDP towards defense and security by 2035, including 3.5% for core defense needs and 1.5% for infrastructure and security investments.

John Deni, a research professor at the U.S. Army War College, indicates that the trend of faster military enhancements in Eastern European nations is unsurprising given their proximity to Russian threats.

“They’re acquiring capabilities quickly and spending significantly more than our Western allies,” Deni noted. “This is to be expected since they live nearest to the threat.”

Many Eastern allies are hastily purchasing available equipment rather than waiting for their own local defense industries to develop, Deni added.

The shifts are apparent across NATO’s eastern and northern regions. Poland has climbed to the rank of one of the alliance’s greatest military spenders, Romania is ramping up its defense investments, and Finland and Sweden have introduced enhanced military technology by joining NATO.

During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Secretary of State Marco Rubio commended Finland and Sweden for their contributions, citing their advanced defense industries and technology as valuable assets.

Romania’s Foreign Minister Oana-Silvia Zoiu expressed similar sentiments, mentioning the necessity for an increased budget in the wake of incidents involving Russian drones jeopardizing its airspace. She stated Romania is elevating defense spending to 2% of GDP and plans to average “3.4%” next year through military and infrastructure investments.

In the context of all these developments, Montgomery pointed out a stark contrast in urgency when comparing the eastern flank with many Western European nations, noting that geographical and political pressures drive the former.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, among the largest economies in Europe, even with a slight decline in military expenditures in 2025, the UK leads at 2.4% of GDP, followed closely by Germany (2.3%), Spain (2.1%), France (2%), and Italy (1.9%).

Montgomery believes that Europe faces three significant hurdles: enhancing military capabilities, rebuilding its defense industrial base, and developing the advanced support capabilities long offered by the U.S.

“If you’re freeloading for 30 years, you end up with a huge deficit in terms of human resources, equipment, technology, and know-how,” he warned. “Europeans should be the primary force defending Europe, while the U.S. should provide additional forces for mobility and offensive operations.”

Looking ahead, Montgomery remains optimistic about NATO’s future. He suggests that while a stable transatlantic relationship is beneficial, Europe will likely continue to invest more in its defense spending and industrial base.

“We’ll probably have a U.S. president who won’t stimulate European countries as much. Europe will invest more,” he concluded, expressing hope that Ukraine will eventually be part of a stronger NATO in the future.