On 25 June, NATO allies agreed to allocate up to 1.5% of their gross domestic product annually toward civil preparedness and resilience. This new agreement could have significant positive consequences for access to 112 over the next decade, by channelling additional funding to improving critical infrastructure such as PSAPs, and to improving the coverage and resilience of 112.
NATO’s new agreement requires its members to “account for up to 1.5% of GDP annually to, inter alia, protect our critical infrastructure, defend our networks, ensure our civil preparedness and resilience, unleash innovation, and strengthen our defence industrial base”. Emergency communications fall within the scope of this new investment target, as PSAPs form part of critical infrastructure, and access to 112 is critical to building civil preparedness and resilience.
The commitment is part of a broader defence spending goal requiring NATO members to spend 5% of GDP on defence by 2035. At least 3.5% should be earmarked for direct defence spending, with the remainder to be spend on civilian-facing initiatives.
While implementation will doubtlessly vary by country, the financial scale is significant. Based on EU-wide GDP, the 1.5% commitment in the EU alone equates to nearly €300 billion annually (though four EU countries, Ireland, Austria, Malta and Cyprus are not NATO members).
This international obligation to invest in improving readiness could be useful for PSAPs when calling for additional funding to improve their operations. In addition, this funding should make investments in new technologies to improve 112’s resilience, such as Direct to Device Satellite Communications, much more attractive in the coming years.
Cover: The participants of the NATO summit, 25 June 2025, the Hague; Photo: NATO