Several European governments are resorting to creative accounting to meet NATO targets

Spain and Italy – historically low spenders – now claim they will hit the 2% of GDP goal by 2025 largely through redefinition of defence outlays. Spain, for instance, pledged to reach 2% by end-2025 (up from just 1.3% in 2024) but is “stretching the definition of military spending” to include programs like border security, disaster relief and climate resilience. PM Pedro Sánchez acknowledged that 17% of Spain’s defence budget this year is earmarked for non-traditional items such as natural disaster response. Italy has taken a similar route: its economy minister said Italy will attain 2% of GDP in 2024 “through a series of accounting changes”, counting expenditures previously excluded – notably military pensions and certain civil technologies – under defence. In some countries pensions alone form a huge chunk of “defence” spending (nearly 20% in Belgium, Italy, and 16% in France), inflating the NATO metric without adding military power. While these maneuvers may satisfy NATO’s bookkeeping ahead of a June summit, critics argue they distort the picture: excluding pensions, only 5 European NATO members truly met 2% last year (vs 8 on paper). The risk is that headline commitments won’t equal improved capabilities, potentially undermining alliance readiness. NATO officials from eastern states have warned that allies must stick together on genuine defence efforts, not just accounting – otherwise the new spending pledges could ring hollow.