NATO must spend 5% of GDP on defence by 2030, Poland says

WARSAW, May 6 (Reuters) - NATO countries need to hit the alliance's target of spending 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence five years ahead of schedule in 2030, Poland's defence minister said on Wednesday, as he warned of the risks of being too late in rearming.

-- An eastern member of NATO that borders both Russia and Ukraine, Poland has been ramping up its military spending in the face of what it regards as the rising threat from Moscow.

-- Warsaw is NATO's biggest military spender relative to the size of its economy and plans to spend 4.8% of GDP on defence in 2026.

-- "Europe is capable of developing its economic potential on an unimaginable scale, but we must be clear: this is today's priority," Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz told the Defence 24 Days conference in Warsaw.

-- "There's no point in waiting until 2035 for 5% - it must be achieved by 2030, because later may be too late," he said.

-- At a summit in June 2025 NATO leaders agreed to spend 5% of GDP on defence and security-related investments by 2035.

-- This includes items such as cybersecurity and upgrading roads and ports to handle heavy military equipment.

(Reporting by Karol Badohal, Pawel Florkiewicz, writing by Alan Charlish, editing by Alexandra Hudson)