European NATO countries and Canada have increased their military spending by $600bn since 2014, alliance secretary general Jens Stoltenberg has said.
“Last year we saw a record 11 per cent increase. I expect 18 allies to reach 2% of GDP this year, that’s another record,” TASS quoted him as saying.
According to Stoltenberg, European NATO countries will spend $380 billion on defence in 2024, which will be 3% of their combined GDP.
Earlier, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called on NATO leaders to increase military spending.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that in 2024 Germany will achieve NATO’s goal of spending 2% of GDP on defence for the first time and will not deviate from it in the future.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock also expressed the opinion that a unified defence alliance should be created within the European Union.