NATO tensions are “growing pains” as U.S. envoy says allies face spending pressure

The U.S. ambassador to NATO told CNBC that tensions within the alliance over the Trump administration’s campaign to pressure allies on defense spending reflect “growing pains,” not a crisis.

Ambassador Matthew Whitaker said the target is that Europe takes over the conventional defense of the European continent, adding that the United States is “not going away,” but will be doing “less.”

He described the current disagreements as challenges the alliance has faced before, pointing to uneven European defense spending and noting that so-called “laggards” will need to increase spending over the next decade.

At last year’s NATO Summit in The Hague, allies agreed on a defense spending target of 5% of GDP by 2035, including 3.5% on core defense spending, following years of pressure from Washington.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said leaders meeting in Ankara need “to turn Allied commitments into concrete results.”

Analysts said the summit is expected to focus on “burden shifting,” as allies consider how to organize defense without the United States at the center.

It also follows U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s June announcement of a review of American forces in Europe and warnings that allies failing to meet spending commitments could face consequences.

Rutte said at a Monday press conference that the U.S. is “bringing NATO closer together” and that regular reviews of defense spending are “wise.”

Rutte added that NATO allies need to translate economic means into military capabilities, overcome fragmented national defense industries, and cut red tape. He also said “tens of billions in new contracts” would be announced at the summit.

Whitaker highlighted Germany, Poland, the Baltic countries, and Denmark as countries that are “clear-eyed” about how to address security challenges.

Most European countries have raised defense spending after years of U.S. security guarantees. However, some such as the U.K. and France face more difficult budget trade-offs and fiscal restraints than others.

Whitaker said: “NATO and our allies were asleep.” He added that NATO has been revived and that the alliance is now seeing what the process looks like.