NATO calls on members to allocate a greater portion of GDP to Defense

NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, stated this Wednesday (14) that he expects 18 of the 31 member countries of the military alliance to allocate 2% of their GDP to defense investment later this year, highlighting that for the first time the European allies will jointly spend 2% of their combined gross domestic product on the military.

“This year I expect 18 allies to spend 2% of their GDP on Defense. This is a record amount”, said the Norwegian during a press conference before the meeting of the organization's defense ministers, which will be held this Thursday (15), in Brussels.

Stoltenberg highlighted the increase this number represents compared to 2014, when allies at a leaders' summit in Wales (UK) agreed to work towards allocating 2% of their national gross domestic product to security by 2024. Ten years ago years, only three NATO members spent 2% of their GDP on defense.

“By 2024, the alliance's allies in Europe will spend a combined total of US$380 billion (R$1.8 trillion) on Defense. For the first time, this equates to 2% of their combined GDP. So we are making real progress . European allies are spending more,” he said.

However, he acknowledged that “some allies still have a way to go”, since at the organization's leaders' summit, held in Vilnius last year, it was agreed that all member countries of the transatlantic alliance should allocate 2% of the GDP to Defense and that this value is “a minimum”.

Spain does not expect to allocate 2% of its gross domestic product to defense until 2029. The forecast is to reach 1.30% of GDP this year.

In any case, Stoltenberg noted that since 2014, European allies and Canada have spent more than an additional $600 billion on security. “Last year there was an unprecedented increase of 11% between European allies and Canada,” commented the former Norwegian Prime Minister.

Stoltenberg also stated that criticism in the United States is not primarily about NATO, but rather about the organization's members not spending “enough” on the military alliance.

“That's a valid argument. It's a message conveyed by successive American administrations: that European allies and Canada have to spend more because we haven't seen fair burden-sharing in the Alliance. The good news is that that's exactly what NATO allies are doing”, he said, in reference to the increase in defense spending and the 18 countries that will reach 2% of GDP in 2024.