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Written by Sabine Siebold and John Irish
BRUSSELS/PARIS (Reuters) – Days after former U.S. President Donald Trump suggested the United States might not protect countries that do not spend enough, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) said on Wednesday: He said Europe is meeting alliance spending targets and the United States needs allies.
NATO’s European countries will invest a total of $380 billion in defense this year, with overall spending expected to rise to 2% of GDP in 2024, up from 1.85% in 2023, the NATO Secretary-General said. said Jens Stoltenberg.
President Trump shocked Europeans on Saturday by hinting that he would urge underspending NATO allies to “do whatever they want” to Russia. Thirty-one allies have a goal of spending 2% of their output on defense, but not all are doing so individually.
Stoltenberg said at a press conference in Brussels, “We expect the 18 allies to spend 2% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defense this year,” marking the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale war with Ukraine. He added that overall military spending would set a new record.
This number was higher than last year, when 11 NATO members were expected to reach the agreed target.
Responding to a journalist’s question related to the controversy over President Trump’s comments, Stoltenberg said the United States recognizes how important defense alliances are to its national security.
“The United States has never fought a war alone,” he said ahead of a NATO ministerial meeting.
“The criticism we’re hearing is not about NATO, it’s about NATO allies not spending enough on NATO,” he added, adding that a new increase in military spending by European allies would be a sign of this. He said it was proof that the message was heard.
make the US your ally
As the US government struggles to pass a $95 billion military aid package for Ukraine and other allies in preparation for a possible second Trump inauguration, NATO diplomats have warned that the alliance’s dominant military power will be transferred to NATO. and is focused on continuing to invest in the protection of Europe.
In a historic first since the end of the Cold War, Berlin will meet the 2% target for the first time this year, allocating the equivalent of 71.8 billion euros ($76.8 billion) in defense spending this year through regular and special budget spending. However, the total amount of defense spending is kept confidential.
France, the only nuclear-armed state in the region, may also follow suit.
The Military Planning Act 2024-2030 will significantly increase France’s defense spending, with €413 billion planned over the next seven years. The new budget was initially expected to reach 2% of GDP from 2025, but sources said this could be brought forward.
Diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said NATO’s new strategy should include further expansion of defense spending in Europe, tackling topics of high interest to the United States such as China and the Indo-Pacific, and responding cautiously to President Trump. He said there is.
One said the approach would be “a combination of flattery and firmness.”
NATO members have steadily increased defense spending since 2014, when Russian forces annexed Crimea in southern Ukraine and entered Donbas in eastern Ukraine.
At a summit in Wales in 2014, NATO leaders agreed to a goal of moving towards spending at least 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defense within 10 years.
According to NATO’s preliminary estimates, 11 allies are expected to reach the 2% target in 2023: Poland, the United States, Greece, Estonia, Lithuania, Finland, Romania, Hungary, Latvia, the United Kingdom, and Slovakia. .
(This article has been resubmitted to correct name of NATO Secretary General in paragraph 2)
(Additional reporting by Andrew Gray; Editing by Tashiro Hummel and Philippa Fletcher)
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