NATO countries are using creative math to meet the U.S. president’s demand to more than double annual spending, partly by expanding what counts beyond soldiers and weapons.

Trump wants Nato members to raise defence budgets to 5% of their GDP. Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte has proposed a compromise plan, calling for 3.5% dedicated to core military spending by 2032, and an additional 1.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday he was confident that members of the NATO alliance would sign up to Donald Trump's demand for a major boost in defence spending, adding that it had to happen by a summit later in June.