The main meeting of this week’s Nato summit in The Hague concluded at around 2.15 pm on Wednesday, with the 32 world leaders agreeing to set a 5% of GDP target for defence spending by 2035, subject to a review in 2029. They also reaffirmed their full support for the key Article 5 collective-defence clause.

Nato secretary general Mark Rutte, who had earlier praised US president Donald Trump for championing the spending increase and described him as “a man of peace”, told reporters the agreement will “fuel a quantum leap in our collective defence.”

“The allies recognise the severity of the threats we face,” he said. “All allies are united in the understanding that we need to step up to play safe.” The decisions made today will make Nato safer and fairer, he said.

Rutte also reaffirmed the “resounding” continued support for Ukraine and said that some €35 billion had already been pledged this year. And he stressed Ukraine’s “irreversible path to Nato membership”.

Under the new target, 3.5% of GDP will be allocated to hardware—including equipment and personnel—while 1.5% will fund softer measures such as cyber‑security defences.

Leaders also agreed to describe Russia as a “long‑term threat to the future of Nato”, rather than the previous label of “the biggest threat”. “He is also a threat in the short term,” Rutte said, in answer to reporters’ questions later.

Meanwhile campaigners from Extinction Rebellion attempted to block the A12 motorway into The Hague on Wednesday afternoon. They were held back by police equipped with batons and prevented from reaching the Malieveld area near the main railway station and surrounding roads, according to news agency ANP.

XR had announced plans to obstruct the motorway in advance of the Nato meeting.

The Hague’s mayor, Jan van Zanen, told reporters police had brought down almost 300 drones from the summit perimeter in recent days. Drone flights were banned over The Hague, Rotterdam and Schiphol airport as a security measure.