The new US defence secretary has delivered an ultimatum to Nato allies, saying they must either honour military spending pledges or face the prospect of America “moderating” its commitment to the transatlantic organisation.

James Mattis issued the warning to the other 27 members of the alliance on Wednesday during a closed session at Nato headquarters in Brussels on his first visit to Europe as a senior member of Donald Trump’s cabinet.

Mattis’s predecessors have made similar threats over the last decade during visits to Nato, but without the same conviction. “I owe it to you to give you clarity on the political reality in the United States, and to state the fair demand from my country’s people in concrete terms,” he said.

“America will meet its responsibilities, but if your nations do not want to see America moderate its commitment to this alliance, each of your capitals needs to show support for our common defence.”

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Trump repeatedly said on the campaign trail last year that it was time for European countries to stump up a fair share for an organisation he denounced as “obsolete”. He created alarm among other Nato members when he said the US might not automatically come to the defence of a fellow member under attack.

Only five of the 28 members meet Nato’s target of spending at least 2% of GDP on defence: the US, the UK, Poland, Greece and Estonia. The US spends 3.6% on defence and the UK 2.2%, based on Nato figures for 2016, while Germany spends 1.1%, France 1.7%, Italy 1.1% and Spain 0.9%.

Mattis did not spell out what he meant by “moderating” support.

The Obama administration, in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, reversed US troop withdrawals from Europe and began the biggest deployment since the end of the cold war, with the first of 4,000 extra troops arriving in Poland in January.



On Wednesday Mattis said he wanted Nato to adopt a plan with new target dates for meeting at least the 2% target and that the plan should be in place by next year.

Earlier he expressed support for the alliance, saying it was a “fundamental bedrock” of US defence policy. Against a backdrop of fresh scrutiny over the new US administration’s alleged links to Russia, he claimed this support was backed by his boss, saying Trump had “strong support for Nato”.

But Mattis also told the meeting of defence ministers: “No longer can the American taxpayer carry a disproportionate share of the defence of western values. Americans cannot care more for your children’s future security than you do.”



Mattis tried to make his case by citing the threat from Moscow, noting the annexation of Crimea and Islamic State’s hold over parts of Iraq and Syria, and saying that “some in this alliance have looked away in denial of what is happening”.



“Despite the threats from the east and south, we have failed to fill gaps in our Nato response force or to adapt,” he added.

Mattis will attend the Munich security conference at the weekend on a visit that will offer another opportunity for European defence and security ministers to try to gauge the Trump administration’s plans.

On the campaign trail Trump repeatedly claimed that the US was paying 75%of Nato’s costs because European countries, struggling with domestic spending problems, were unwilling to contribute their share.

Although the US and UK use the yardstick of 2% of GDP, the running costs of Nato shared by all 28 members in 2016 amounted to about $2bn (£1.6bn). While the US was the biggest contributor, this amounted to significantly less than Trump’s claimed 75%. The US paid 22% of the common running costs, Germany 14.6%, France 10.6% and Spain 5.7%.

The UK defence secretary, Michael Fallon, who was at the meeting and supports the push for other countries to raise defence spending to 2%, said Mattis had explained that “the impatience of the American taxpayer is a reality”.

On Tuesday, the International Institute for Strategic Studies thinktank said in its annual military balance report that UK defence spending had fallen to 1.98% in 2016. The UK Ministry of Defence disputed this.