On the occasion of the 76th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a meeting of foreign ministers was held, but the celebratory atmosphere was hard to find as discontent among member states erupted due to the United States' imposition of mutual tariffs and pressure on defense expenditure.
At the NATO foreign ministers' meeting held on the 4th in Brussels, Belgium, concerns arose among member countries regarding the United States' proposal to raise the defense expenditure guideline and the tariff issue regarding the European Union. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued at the meeting that NATO's defense expenditure guideline should be raised from the current 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) to 5%. He described this as a "realistic pathway" and stated that the United States would also implement this goal.
However, a considerable number of member countries expressed hesitation. Norway's Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide said, "We are not ready to achieve 5% yet," and Germany's Minister of Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock emphasized that, despite recent increases, Germany's target is 3%.
Currently, the average defense expenditure of NATO's 32 member countries is 2.71% of GDP, with 9 countries still below 2%. Even the United States stands at 3.38%, raising questions about the realism of Secretary Rubio's claims. Accordingly, a compromise of around 3% to 3.5% is speculated to be proposed at the NATO summit to be held in The Hague, Netherlands, in June.
At this meeting, complaints about the United States' mutual tariff measures against the European Union were also expressed. The United States has warned of a 20% tariff on the EU, which will affect 23 of the 32 NATO member countries. Kaia Kallas, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, warned that "if we enter a trade war, our enemies will be watching," while the United Kingdom's Foreign Secretary David Lammy noted that "the return to protectionism is regrettable."
There were still differences in positions surrounding the end of the war in Ukraine. Major European countries, including the United Kingdom and France, criticized Russia for deliberately delaying the implementation of the "partial ceasefire" mediated by the United States, while some countries demanded a deadline for its implementation. On the other hand, Secretary Rubio remarked without specifics that "we will know Russia's sincerity within a few weeks" and stated, "If they are not serious, we must reassess our position."
The only issue that member countries reached a consensus on at this meeting was to strengthen cooperation with the Indo-Pacific Four (IP4) countries. Member countries voiced their agreement on deepening relations with South Korea, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia, which have been invited to NATO meetings for four consecutive years. South Korea was represented by Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Tae-yeol, and NATO stated that "cooperation with IP4 will be further strengthened."
A NATO official explained, "The current administration, like the previous U.S. administration, also has a clear intention to strengthen NATO-IP4 cooperation."