Warsaw is backing Donald Trump’s demand for Nato countries to spend 5 per cent of GDP on defence even if it will take 10 years for the alliance’s laggards to reach the target, says the Polish defence minister.

W?adys?aw Kosiniak-Kamysz told the Financial Times that his country “can be the transatlantic link between this challenge set by President Trump and its implementation in Europe”. Poland is the Nato member closest to meeting the new target, having earmarked 4.7 per cent of GDP for defence this year, the highest in the US-led military alliance.

Ahead of his return to the White House this month, Trump has raised the pressure on Nato members to increase spending on their military, given that just 23 of its 32 members currently meet the 2 per cent spending target, with Italy and Spain among the EU countries below this threshold.