US President Donald Trump is considering stripping NATO member states that fail to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP of the right to invoke Article 5 of the alliance’s charter, The Telegraph reports.

According to the publication, the proposals under discussion предусматривают that such countries could be excluded from decision-making on expanding joint missions and activating the collective defense mechanism. The model has been actively promoted by US officials during a number of meetings, although it has not been formally submitted for discussion at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

Trump had previously allowed for the possibility that Washington could withdraw support for NATO, citing the alliance’s actions.

The first NATO summit following Trump’s election was held in The Hague on June 24–25, 2025. The US president repeatedly criticized European countries for insufficient defense contributions and demanded that spending be increased to 5% of GDP. As a result, member states conditionally agreed to allocate that level of funding annually by 2035, despite Spain’s position. Madrid had stated in advance that it would not support the 5% target and proposed a more flexible wording with a 2032 timeline.