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Senate hearing on NATO summit: experts urge 5% defense-spending target, stronger deterrence and continued U.S. support for Ukraine
Summary
At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, two foreign-policy experts told senators that Europe must raise defense spending and the United States must remain the security enabler for NATO. Witnesses recommended a 5% defense-spending target, tighter industrial cooperation, and measures to deter Russian hybrid attacks.
At a policy hearing on the 2025 NATO summit, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee heard bipartisan warnings about a strengthened Russian threat and calls for a faster, deeper European rearmament backed by continued U.S. leadership.
Peter Rau, director of the Center on Europe and Eurasia at the Hudson Institute, told the committee that Europe remains central to U.S. national interest and must increase defense investment. "Europe remains of vital importance to the United States," Rau said, citing two-way foreign direct investment in 2023 of about $7.5 trillion. He and other witnesses urged NATO leaders to back a new collective defense investment pledge of 5% of GDP, with a recommended split of 3.5% for core military spending and 1.5% for related costs such as cyber and infrastructure.
Alina Polyakova, president and CEO of the Center for European Policy Analysis, echoed that stance and emphasized that European spending must translate into deployable capabilities.…
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