Translated material
Media: Europe will sharply increase defense spending
European NATO members are discussing increasing defense spending to 3% of GDP. European countries currently spend 2% of GDP on defense, and such a sharp jump in spending could put significant pressure on national budgets. The Financial Times newspaper writes about this, citing four sources who participated in negotiations on this issue.
So far, NATO foreign ministers are holding confidential talks on increasing the defense spending target, but FT interlocutors note that an official decision could still be made by the alliance’s June 2025 summit. For now, the option of gradually raising the rate is being considered: first, countries will contribute 2.5% to defense budgets, and then gradually raise spending to 3% by 2030.
European NATO members are allowing such changes in part because Donald Trump is returning to the White House, having said the United States will not defend NATO allies from a theoretical Russian attack unless they contribute enough of their own to the defense of the entire alliance.
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According to NATO calculations, even now not all members of the alliance spend 2% on defense. Only 23 out of 32 countries will achieve this indicator at the end of the current year; Germany did this for the first time ever. The FT clarifies that among the countries that did not reach the required figure are Italy and Spain - they spent 1.49% and 1.28% respectively. However, the situation is gradually improving: in particular, in 2018, only six countries contributed 2% of GDP to defense.
European members of the alliance decided to change their position on this issue after two years of war in Ukraine, writes FT. European leaders saw that current levels of spending were insufficient to either support Ukraine or contain Russia. Against this background, NATO members recognized Trump’s demand to increase defense fees for European countries as fair. The United States spends 3.4% of GDP on defense.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte did not comment to the FT on plans to increase spending by European partners. However, he admitted that the current spending rate of 2% is indeed insufficient to close all existing gaps.
The FT notes that increased spending will be a big problem for many European economies, including the UK. Experts admit that spending 2.5% of GDP will still not help modernize the British army. France, Germany, Italy and Spain may also face economic problems.
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