Poland and the Baltic states meet their defence spending commitments, but most countries still lag behind.
60% confidence
DefenceEuropean Union
Omissions
Under NATO's original 2%-of-GDP commitment, the claim is contradicted by the data: NATO's Secretary General Annual Report 2025 states that in 2025 all Allies met or exceeded the 2% guideline, and NATO's own 2025 estimates (cited by the BBC) show every ally at or above 2%. 'Most countries still lag behind' therefore holds only for the newer, higher Hague benchmarks (3.5% core / 5% total by 2035), not for the 2% target.
The MEP does not specify which 'defence spending commitment' he means; the accuracy of the statement depends entirely on that choice (2% vs. the new 3.5%/5% target), which is left implicit and open to a misleading reading.
The 2025 NATO figures are estimates; final outturn data may differ.
Sources
PrimaryNATO — Secretary General Annual Report 2025"In 2025, all Allies met the guideline agreed at the Wales Summit of spending 2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on defence." / "All Allies reported defence expenditure figures that met or went beyond the 2% target first set in 2014."
PrimaryNATO — Defence Expenditure of NATO Countries (2014-2025)Official NATO defence expenditure series by ally as % of GDP for 2014-2025, the reference dataset for compliance with the 2% guideline (Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia appear at the top of the ranking).
SecondaryEuropean Parliament Think Tank (EPRS) — EU Member States' defence budgets"Poland and the Baltic States top the ranking in relative terms: Poland records 4.48 %, Lithuania 4.00 %, Latvia 3.73 % and Estonia 3.38 %." / "In 2025, Member States reached an estimated €381 billion (2.1 % of GDP). All EU NATO Allies now spend more than the 2 % defence expenditure..."