The United Kingdom and France have derailed a proposal under which NATO member states would allocate 0.25% of GDP to military aid for Ukraine, The Telegraph has reported.
Earlier this week, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte acknowledged that his plan would not be implemented because it had failed to secure sufficient support.
“I do not think this one will be proposed,” he told journalists, without naming its opponents.
According to The Telegraph, the idea was blocked by the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy and Canada.
Rutte had hoped to have the proposal approved at the upcoming annual NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.
This week, ministers began discussing what the alliance’s civilian chief believed should become a concrete demonstration of support for the war-torn country.
“An alliance insider said at least seven member states who all spend over 0.25% of GDP on military aid to Ukraine had voiced support. However, any proposals adopted by NATO require unanimous backing from all national capitals of the alliance’s members,” the report said.
According to publicly available data compiled by the Kiel Institute, the Netherlands, Poland, as well as the Nordic and Baltic countries, provide aid at or above the level of 0.25% of GDP. The size of the United Kingdom’s military contribution – the third-largest after the United States and Germany – is also not in question, despite not reaching the 0.25% of GDP threshold.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged to allocate at least GBP 3 billion per year – around 0.1% of GDP – for the foreseeable future.
Most of the criticism concerns countries such as France, Spain, Italy and Canada, which have repeatedly been accused of failing to contribute their fair share. These countries, three of which are Europe’s third, fourth and fifth-largest economies, lag behind many of their smaller allies in terms of the volume of assistance provided.
Rutte argues that assistance to Ukraine is “not distributed evenly across NATO” and that many countries are “not spending enough to support Ukraine.”
The NATO chief, who served as prime minister of the Netherlands for 14 years, has long argued that Europe must assume greater responsibility for supporting Ukraine, in response to Donald Trump’s complaints about the continent “free-riding.”
A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “The UK continues to work with NATO allies on all proposals to ensure the alliance provides the best possible support for Ukraine.”
Representatives of France, Italy, Spain and Canada did not respond to The Telegraph’s requests for comment.