2024-02-14 17:04:28
The Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, announced this Wednesday (02/14/024) a sharp increase in military spending, following Donald Trump’s threats to countries in default with their contributions if he returns to the presidency of the United States. “This year, I expect 18 allies to spend 2% of GDP on Defense. This is another record figure and is six times more than in 2014, when only three allies met the target,” he said.
The list of the 18 countries that would meet the military spending goal this year was not disclosed, although, for example, Germany will exceed that threshold, as has been known from press reports. In 2023, 11 countries have reached the goal. That year, NATO countries decided to make 2% a minimum floor, and not a maximum objective.
“More determined than ever” in their support for Ukraine
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius downplayed Trump’s statements. “I think we would do very well not to constantly look at what the presidential candidates are doing or look at the elections, but rather do our homework,” he said in statements to the press upon his arrival at the meeting of the Support Contact Group. Ukraine which was held today at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Trump’s statements generated a real commotion on a global level, and important leaders publicly criticized that position, including the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, or even the President of the United States himself, Joe Biden. The US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, assured today in Brussels that his country continues to “firmly support” Kiev. “The Kremlin is still betting that we will all lose interest in Ukraine and that our support will waver and fade, but I am more determined than ever and I know you are too,” he declared.
Global defense spending in 2023 was also a record
Global defense spending increased 9% in 2023, reaching a record $2.2 trillion, driven by NATO in its response to the war in Ukraine and rising tensions with China, a report from the International Defense Institute indicates. Strategic Studies (IISS, in English).
The London think tank presented on Tuesday the ‘Military Balance 2024’, the 65th edition of its annual study on the defensive capabilities, equipment and budgets of 173 territories. The IISS, founded in 1958, says that military spending will increase further this year, in accordance with investment commitments already announced by different governments.
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