President Donald Trump’s administration has told allies in the UK and Europe that it wants them to buy American weapons and military equipment in order to maintain the NATO alliance, European officials familiar with the matter said.

European leaders say Trump isn’t serious about the need for NATO members to spend 5 percent of GDP on defense. The question is how much more they need to spend.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will on Wednesday become the first member of the new Trump administration to visit NATO, where the allies are keen to understand how America now plans to influence the course of the war in Ukraine.

The credit ratings of Europe's NATO members are likely to suffer if they ramp up defence spending in line with U.S. President Donald Trump's demands although they might drive the region to jointly issue debt,