NATO to up military spending for the 8th year in-a-row

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
21 Nov 2022 17:31

NATO Chief says that members may agree to increase defense spending to reach over the current 2% of GDP baseline

Secretary-General of NATO alliance Jens Stoltenberg.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said during a visit to Spain that the members of the alliance may agree to increase defense spending to reach over the current one which is 2% of their national GDP.

"I expect that, in one way or another, even though perhaps the 2% will be kept, it will be kept more as a kind of floor than a ceiling for defense spending," Stoltenberg said.

"These are negotiations that will go on, but I'm absolutely confident that the ambitions will be increased in one way or another - because everyone now sees the need for investing more," the Chief added.

Following Russia's move on Crimea back in 2014, NATO members announced setting the 2% target defense spending as a baseline and increasing the output starting in 2024.

"I cannot tell you exactly what our allies will agree when it comes to formulating the pledge for defense spending for the next decade or so... but I expect that it'll be an even stronger commitment to increasing defense spending," NATO Chief added.

Earlier this month, NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg announced that the upcoming summit of the heads of state and governments of the alliance will take place on 11 and 12 July 2023, in the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius.

NATO heads of state will discuss further steps to strengthen the alliance's deterrence and defense, and "review significant increases in defense spending," Stoltenberg then stated.

It's noteworthy that earlier in May, Deputy Secretary-General of NATO Mircea Geoana announced from Vilnius that NATO is no longer bound by past commitments to hold back from deploying its forces in eastern Europe.

Russia had for years prior to the war in Ukraine warned of the threat posed against it by NATO's attempts to expand eastward, which happened simultaneously with an increase in NATO military activity along Russia's borders, and batches of lethal weapons being sent to Ukraine, prompting Russia to request security guarantees from the West. Washington failed to provide the guarantees.