Norway backs new 5% Nato defence spending target, prime minister says
Speaking at the press conference, Jonas Gahr Støre declared Norway’s support for the 5% target proposed by Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte.
In his opening statement, Støre explained the target is divided into 3.5% on “classic defence” spending including staff, investments, preparedness, and support for Ukraine, with the remaining 1.5% on “defence-related expenses” including on operational and industrial measures.
He said that the latter category could cover expenses on protecting and developing critical infrastructure, facing hybrid threats including in digital, and disinformation, among others.
He said the country was currently spending 3.2% on defence, if Ukraine aid is included. The latest Nato estimates for 2024 had Norway spending 2.2%.
The prime minister added that some details on the target, including by when the countries should meet it, remain under active discussions and will be decided next week.
Støre also reiterated his warning that Norway faces “the most serious security policy situation” since the second world war, as he also pointed to new risks arising from the crisis in the Middle East.
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Updated at 09.24 BST
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Pope warns of AI risks to young brains
Pope Leo XIV warned of the potential consequences of artificial intelligence (AI) on the intellectual development of young people, saying it could damage their grip on reality, AFP reported.
Pope Leo XIV leads his traditional Wednesday General Audience at St. Peter’s Square. Photograph: Stefano Costantino/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
Since his election as head of the Catholic Church on May 8, the pope – a mathematics graduate – has repeatedly warned of the risks associated with AI but this is the first time he has spoken out exclusively on the subject.
“All of us… are concerned for children and young people, and the possible consequences of the use of AI on their intellectual and neurological development,” the American pope warned in a written message to participants at the second Rome Conference on AI.
“No generation has ever had such quick access to the amount of information now available through AI.”
“But again, access to data – however extensive – must not be confused with intelligence,” Leo told business leaders, policymakers and researchers attending the annual conference.
Pope Leo himself has been the target of deepfake videos and audio messages published on social media in recent weeks.
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Updated at 13.10 BST
From Berlin to Oslo, Europe’s urban swimmers take the plunge
And speaking of swimming, there’s also a separate topic of urban Europe’s wild swimming hotspots – both those that are coming, and those that have been delighting city swimmers for years.
Swimmers in Berlin’s Spree River: ‘The view of the city is completely different from down there.’ Photograph: Christian Jungeblodt/The Guardian
Do we have a story about it?
Of course we have a story about it.
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Most of Europe’s bathing waters safe for swimming, report says
More than three-quarters of bathing waters monitored in the European Union, Albania and Switzerland were of “excellent” quality in 2024, the 27-member bloc’s environment agency said on Friday.
A Spanish beach on Costa Brava. Photograph: Jose Manuel Sanchez Guerrero/Alamy
AFP noted that all but four percent met the EU’s minimum standard (“sufficient”) and just 1.5 percent were of “poor” quality, the European Environment Agency said in its annual update on the beaches, rivers and lakes that are tested for faecal contamination.
“Europeans can confidently bathe in the vast majority of the EU’s bathing sites that meet the EU’s bathing quality standards,” EU environment commissioner Jessika Roswall said.
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Poland’s Tusk picks EU minister to be government spokesperson
Poland’s EU minister Adam Szłapka, who led the country’s EU presidency from January, will become the new chief government spokesperson, prime minister Donald Tusk has announced.
Adam Szlapka, Minister of European Affairs of Poland and Chairman of the EU General Affairs Council, speaks with the media before the start of the EU General Affairs Council in Brussels, Belgium. Photograph: Olivier Matthys/EPA
The move comes ahead of a broader government reshuffle after the ruling pro-European coalition’s defeat in the presidential election earlier this month.
Talking about the defeat in parliament, Tusk strongly defended his government’s track record and lamented its inability to communicate its successes to the electorate.
“If we told our story even half as well as we actually governed, we would be winning election after election,” he said.
Now it’s on Szłapka to make that happen.
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Updated at 11.24 BST
Iran to be discussed at next week’s Nato summit, Germany says
In Berlin, meanwhile, a German government spokesperon said that Iran will probably be a topic of discussion at next week’s Nato summit in The Hague.
“We do not comment on allies’ possible attack plans,” the spokesperson said, referring to US president Donald Trump saying he would decide within two weeks whether his country would join Israeli strikes.
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Macron praises Eutelsat investment, calls for return to talks on Iran
Arriving at the Paris airshow just a moment ago, Macron stressed the importance of the European satellite company Eutelsat, saying it was a part of a broader push for Europe’s strategic sovereignty, as he urged partners to join France in raising even more capital.
French president Emmanuel Macron, welcomed by French Minister of Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu, walks on the tarmac after disembarking from an Airbus A400M military plane for a visit at the 55th International Paris Airshow at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France. Photograph: Benoît Tessier/Reuters
It was announced yesterday that France is set to become Eutelsat’s biggest shareholder after a €1.35bn capital injection.
Macron argued Eutelsat was the only “non-American and non-Chinese player” in space, and so it allowed to build a sovereign alternative for Europe.
On Iran, Macron said “no one should dismiss the risk posed by an Iran equipped with nuclear weapon,” stressing France’s role in the past negotiations on this issue.
He added Iran must show its willingness to return to the negotiating table.
But he also stressed that “nothing justifies strikes on energy infrastructure and civilian population,” and called for an urgent return to diplomatic talks, praising the Geneva talks talking place this afternoon.
“We must be able to resume political and diplomatic work,” he said.
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Paris airshow in subdued mood after deadly Air India crash
Jasper Jolly
Every second summer more than 100,000 aviation industry professionals gather in Paris for an airshow – a flying display crossed with a vast conference.
Visitors watch an air display at the 55th International Paris Airshow at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France. Photograph: Benoît Tessier/Reuters
The mood at the latest gathering this week was more subdued than usual, after the deadly crash a week ago of a London-bound Air India flight in Ahmedabad.
At an event that presents a mix of civil and military aircraft and weaponry, the war between Israel and Iran further overshadowed proceedings.
The French government forced the show’s organisers to cover stands exhibiting Israeli companies’ weapons, an apparent show of France’s opposition to the escalation. Turbo Sjogren, the head of Boeing’s international government and defence, said several Middle Eastern military customers were unable to attend meetings because of the war.
The airshow and its British counterpart – held every other year at Farnborough, Hampshire – are usually dominated by a race between Airbus and Boeing to announce the most orders from airlines.
ShareJakub Krupa
Meanwhile in France, president Emmanuel Macron is expected to deliver a statement at the Paris airshow later today.
I will keep an eye on this – he’s due to speak closer to midday – but in the meantime, here’s our latest report from the event.
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Updated at 10.41 BST
Work needed to find consensus on Nato spending, Norway’s Støre says
Asked about the Spanish opposition to the 5% Nato target, Støre said the goal remains to reach a common position, as he stressed it wasn’t unusual for 32 countries in different geographical locations and economic situations to have different views.
Norway’s prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre holds a press conference about Norway’s contribution to Nato at the Prime Minister’s Office in Oslo, Norway. Photograph: Håkon Mosvold Larsen/AP
“I assume that work is being done with the aim of achieving a consensus and a solution that all countries can agree on,” he said, adding that “there is a fairly common understanding in Europe that Europe should contribute more.”
Looking at when Norway could meet the new target, he suggested it would be “well into 2030s,” hinting at some point between 2030 and 2036.
And that concludes his press conference.
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Updated at 10.02 BST
Norway backs new 5% Nato defence spending target, prime minister says
Speaking at the press conference, Jonas Gahr Støre declared Norway’s support for the 5% target proposed by Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte.
In his opening statement, Støre explained the target is divided into 3.5% on “classic defence” spending including staff, investments, preparedness, and support for Ukraine, with the remaining 1.5% on “defence-related expenses” including on operational and industrial measures.
He said that the latter category could cover expenses on protecting and developing critical infrastructure, facing hybrid threats including in digital, and disinformation, among others.
He said the country was currently spending 3.2% on defence, if Ukraine aid is included. The latest Nato estimates for 2024 had Norway spending 2.2%.
The prime minister added that some details on the target, including by when the countries should meet it, remain under active discussions and will be decided next week.
Støre also reiterated his warning that Norway faces “the most serious security policy situation” since the second world war, as he also pointed to new risks arising from the crisis in the Middle East.
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Updated at 09.24 BST
Jakub Krupa
Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre is about to give a press conference on Norway’s contribution to Nato shortly.
Let’s see if he has anything to say on Spain’s objections, too.
I will bring you the key lines here.
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Spain rejects Nato plan for member states to spend 5% of GDP on defence
Sam Jones
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has rejected Nato’s proposal for member states to increase their defence spending to 5% of their GDP, saying the idea would “not only be unreasonable but also counterproductive”.
Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez arrives to attend the Government control session at the Lower House of Parliament in Madrid, Spain. Photograph: MARISCAL/EPA
Sánchez said that he was not seeking to complicate next week’s Nato summit in The Hague, but he wanted there to be a “more flexible formula” that would either make the target optional or allow Spain to opt out.
The proposal – advanced by the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, in response to Donald Trump’s demands for a 5% target – suggests member states agree to raise defence spending to 3.5% of their GDP and commit a further 1.5% to wider security spending.
In a letter to Rutte that emerged on Thursday, Sánchez questioned the possible consequences of such a rise, saying it would be incompatible with Spain’s welfare state and its vision of the world.
“Committing to a 5% target would not only be unreasonable but also counterproductive because it would move Spain further away from optimal spending and would hinder the EU’s ongoing efforts to strengthen its security and defence ecosystem,” he said.
“It is the legitimate right of every government to decide whether or not they are willing to make those sacrifices. As a sovereign ally, we choose not to.”
Spain currently lags well behind other western nations by dedicating only about 1.3% of its GDP to defence spending, well short of the current Nato target of 2%. It has suggested a target of 2.1%.
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Morning opening: Russian attacks on Ukraine continue
Jakub Krupa
One person was killed and at least 14 were injured when Russian drones attacked the Ukrainian Black Sea city of Odesa overnight, damaging high-rise buildings and railway infrastructure, Reuters reported local authorities as saying.
Odesa is Ukraine’s largest Black Sea port, key for imports and exports, and has been under constant missile and drone attacks by Russia since the war began, the agency noted.
“Despite the active work of air defence forces, there is damage to civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings, a higher education institution, a gas pipeline and private cars,” local governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram messenger.
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters evacuate a resident from the burning apartment building following Russia’s massive air attack in Odesa, Ukraine. Photograph: AP
The latest attack comes 101 days after Ukraine accepted the US proposal for an unconditional ceasefire, but Russia continues to dither, delay and destroy and refuses to commit to the process.
It also comes just days before the Nato summit in The Hague next week, where Ukraine is expected to feature prominently on the agenda with the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, among those attending.
Elsewhere, we will be looking at reactions to Spain’s criticism of the alliance’s new 5% spending target and other key developments across the continent, including French president Emmanuel Macron’s speech at the Paris Air Show.
It’s Friday, 20 June 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
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