Speaking in Brussels on Thursday, Kosiniak-Kamysz said that such a plan would help alliance members allocate 5 percent of their gross domestic product to military expenditures.
Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz speaks to reporters in Brussels on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: PAP/Wiktor Dąbkowski
The question of defense spending is expected to be a key topic at the NATO summit in June.
US President Donald Trump has been pushing for NATO countries to raise their defense budgets to 5 percent of GDP, while NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte acknowledged the need for increased investment and has suggested a target of 3 to 3.5 percent.
Kosiniak-Kamysz said that Poland is already on track to allocate 4.7 percent of its GDP to defense in 2025, positioning it as a model for other NATO countries.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth highlighted Poland’s commitment during remarks on Wednesday.
However, Kosiniak-Kamysz cautioned that expecting all member states to make a rapid jump in spending would be unrealistic.
"It is impossible to raise the bar from 2 percent to 5 percent of GDP overnight when some countries have struggled to move from 1.5 percent to 2 percent over the past decade," he said.
At the meeting in The Hague, Kosiniak-Kamysz intends to advocate for a structured roadmap that would allow countries to scale up their defense investments incrementally.
"We need a clear action plan," he said. "A radical annual increase in defense spending to reach 5 percent of GDP must be the goal."
While NATO member states must agree unanimously on an overall target, he stressed that individual nations should take their own steps toward higher military budgets in the meantime.
The Polish defense minister argued that Poland has "both the right and the duty" to highlight that without higher defense spending, Europe’s strategic objectives for security and deterrence cannot be met.
However, he noted a shift in attitudes among NATO defense ministers, who are now more willing to commit additional funds to military budgets.
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP