Brussels, 5 June 2025 –
Also available in French
Meeting in Brussels on Thursday 5 June 2025, NATO Defence Ministers agreed an ambitious new set of capability targets to build a stronger, fairer, more lethal Alliance, and ensure warfighting readiness for years to come.
At a closing press conference NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed that the targets “describe exactly what capabilities Allies need to invest in over the coming years… to keep our deterrence and defence strong and our one billion people safe.”
The targets are the basis for a new defence investment plan which is expected to be approved at the NATO Summit in The Hague. The proposal calls for Allies to invest 5% of GDP in defence, including 3.5% on core defence spending, as well as 1.5% of GDP per year on defence and security-related investment, including in infrastructure and resilience.
The NATO-Ukraine Council also met on Thursday, with Allies joined by the Ukrainian Minister of Defence Rustem Umerov, and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas. Following the meeting, the Secretary General reaffirmed Allied support for Ukraine noting that this year alone, Allies had pledged over 20 billion euros in additional security assistance for Ukraine. He also welcomed the additional support Allies had pledged at the meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group on Wednesday.
In the final meeting of the Ministerial, Allies took part in a regular meeting of NATO’s Nuclear Planning Group. “Nuclear deterrence remains the cornerstone of Alliance security,” noted the Secretary General, “and we will ensure that NATO’s nuclear capability remains strong and effective, in order to preserve peace, prevent coercion and deter aggression.”
Source – NATO
NATO Allies enhance cooperation in the air
Brussels, 5 June 2025
Also available in French
On Thursday, NATO Allies also further strengthened their ability to train aircrews and use cross-border airspace for exercises.
At a signing ceremony held on the margins of NATO Defence Ministers’ meeting, a number of Allies joined two established initiatives.
Canada, Denmark, Norway and Poland joined the NATO Flight Training Europe (NFTE) High-Visibility multinational initiative, which aims to ensure the delivery of state-of-the-art pilot training across Europe in a cost-efficient and interoperable manner.
Since its launch in 2020, eight military campuses have been fully accredited for NFTE training and six are undergoing certification. NFTE training includes basic, intermediate and advanced training for fighter jet, helicopter and transport pilots, as well as personnel who remotely pilot uncrewed aircraft. On 5 March the first group of students graduated in Remotely Piloted Aircraft System training at the NFTE campus in Waddington, United Kingdom.
Canada, Croatia, Czechia, Luxembourg, Montenegro, the Netherlands and Slovenia agreed to join the 21 other Allies that participate in the Cross-Border Airspace Cooperation initiative.
Launched in 2023, this initiative aims to develop larger airspace solutions, including cross-border, that are better suited to accommodate training events for modern air capabilities and systems.
Source – NATO
NATO Defence: Press remarks by EU High Representative and Vice-President Kaja Kallas
Brussels, 5 June 2025
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It is good to be here.
Today we have the NATO-Ukraine Council and we have discussions on different topics.
First, I am really happy that NATO is also expanding the capability targets, which are necessary for these developments of European defence as well.
Then second, we do not see any movements on the ceasefire. It is clear that Putin is still playing games, and there is no indication that they want peace. Of course, what we are doing on the European side is to increase the pressure by working on the next package of sanctions. We are hitting a point where the sanctions are really hitting the supply chains, so we will see probably a bigger impact on this in order to pressure also Russia into wanting peace.
And then, of course, we have seen over the last weekend these drone attacks of Ukraine that are rewriting the military history. I mean, they used drones costing thousands to take out planes costing millions. So, I think this is clearly bringing the cost up also for the Russians, again, so that Russians would also want peace.
Q&A.
Q. When will it be possible to see this next package? Because it was announced several weeks ago, if Putin would not accept ceasefire. He did not do it.
Yes, yes. Well, it was clear that in Europe things take time. We just finished with the 17th package of sanctions, and immediately after that said we are working on the 18th package. So, we are doing [this] as fast as we can. And I think it is very important to also send a strong signal to put the pressure on Russia. I cannot give you [an] exact deadline, but we are definitely aiming for having it as soon as possible.
Q. Is it possible before Summit of NATO?
Well. We are working on that, but I cannot give any promises.
Q. Are you encouraged by the uptake or discouraged by the uptake of the EU Member States of NATO in using the financing that the European Union has made available to get to their 5% to pay for their capability targets, whatever that turns out to be. And a separate question on messaging. As the negotiations for the Summit Communiqué are underway, we hear that they are having trouble coming up with even a single sentence that would mean Russia as the aggressor, or Russia as the threat to NATO. What does that say? Is that a big disconnect with what most European NATO Allies think?
Well, first on your first question, the Member States are interested in using the funds that we made available to really boost their defence. We see decisions coming from Spain, for example, that they come to 2% already this year. We see also Luxembourg taking up next steps and important announcements coming from different countries. I think it shows that all the Member States understand that we need to really move and boost the defence of Europe.
When it comes to NATO negotiations, then I am not part of the negotiations anymore. But definitely, I was just in Asia, and I must say that they have understood, and we are talking about Russian aggression, the defence of international law. If you do not defend the international law, then you actually make aggression legitimate. So, this cannot just work, and the Asian countries understand that. So, I hope that we have the similar approach also in NATO.
Q. What do you think about this idea to include support to Ukraine in this three and half or one and half percent of increasing spending?
Well, of course, the numbers are one thing. Capabilities are another thing. I think Ukrainian defence is also our defence. We have taken that always so that the Member States could also help Ukraine more. Now when it comes to the calculation whether it is in the 5% or not in the 5% then it is, of course, up to NATO to decide. But I think it is important that we do not blur the picture, [so] that it goes to defence and not to the other projects that are not related to it.
Q. Are you concerned by reports that Putin says he will retaliate against operations, by the way?
Well, it Is clear that they have had the drone attacks and attacks on civilians all the time, so they have not changed their behaviour before. And it is clear that they are going to want to impose bigger costs on Ukraine, [as they are] always attacking civilians. Let me remind you that it is against the international humanitarian law to attack civilians or civilian infrastructure, and Russia is doing that all the time. Our response should not be to take a step back. Our response should be to put more pressure on Russia so that they would also want peace.
Good, thank you.
Link to the video: https://www.natomultimedia.tv/app/asset/719568
Source – EEAS