NATO agrees 5% spending deal, overcoming Spain block: diplomats

NATO countries on Sunday signed off on a pledge to ramp up defence spending after Spain dropped opposition that had threatened to derail the alliance's summit next week, diplomats said.

US President Donald Trump has insisted allies commit to spending five percent of GDP on defence at the two-day meeting starting on Tuesday in The Hague.

Multiple diplomats said the commitment to be announced at the summit will see allies promise to reach 3.5 percent for core military needs over the next decade, and spend 1.5 percent on a looser category of "defence-related" expenditures such as infrastructure and cybersecurity.