A record more than 20 NATO member nations are hitting the Western military alliance’s defense spending target this year, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday, as Russia’s war in Ukraine has raised the threat of expanding conflict in Europe. “Europeans are doing more for their collective security than just a few years ago,” Stoltenberg said in a speech at the Wilson Center research group before meeting with President Joe Biden later Monday at the White House.
Quick Read
- A record number of NATO member nations are meeting the defense spending target this year amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced.
- Over 20 NATO members are hitting the alliance’s defense spending guideline, marking a nearly fourfold increase from 2021 when only six nations met the goal.
- Stoltenberg highlighted the increased collective security efforts by Europeans in a speech at the Wilson Center before meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House.
- NATO members agreed last year to spend at least 2% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defense, driven by concerns over the conflict in Ukraine.
- The surge in defense spending is also influenced by worries about the potential reelection of former President Donald Trump, who criticized NATO allies for not meeting defense spending targets.
- Stoltenberg’s visit prepares for a crucial NATO summit in Washington next month, with the alliance growing stronger since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- Defense spending by European countries had declined after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, but Russia’s seizure of Crimea in 2014 led NATO members to unanimously agree on the 2% GDP defense spending target.
- The full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 further motivated European countries to allocate more resources to meet this defense spending commitment.
The Associated Press has the story:
A record number of NATO allies are hitting their defense spending target during war in Ukraine
Newslooks- WASHINGTON (AP) —
A record more than 20 NATO member nations are hitting the Western military alliance’s defense spending target this year, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday, as Russia’s war in Ukraine has raised the threat of expanding conflict in Europe.
The estimated figure is a nearly fourfold increase from 2021 in the ranks of the 32 NATO members meeting the alliance’s defense spending guideline. Only six nations were meeting the goal that year, before Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“Europeans are doing more for their collective security than just a few years ago,” Stoltenberg said in a speech at the Wilson Center research group before meeting with President Joe Biden later Monday at the White House.
NATO members agreed last year to spend at least 2% of their gross domestic product on defense. The surge in spending reflects the worries about the war in Ukraine.
Some countries also are concerned about the possible reelection of former President Donald Trump, who has characterized many NATO allies as freeloading on U.S. military spending and said on the campaign trail that he would not defend NATO members that don’t meet defense spending targets.
Stoltenberg’s visit is laying the groundwork for what’s expected to be a pivotal summit of NATO leaders in Washington next month. The mutual-defense alliance has grown in strength and size since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago, with both Sweden and Finland joining.
Defense spending by many European countries fell after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union seemed to neutralize what was then the prime security threat to the West.
But after Russia seized Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, NATO members unanimously agreed to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense within a decade. The full-scale invasion that Putin launched in 2022 spurred European countries newly on the front line of a war in the heart of Europe to pour more resources into meeting that target.
