On the eve of the summer NATO summit in Vilnius, a dispute is brewing over the proposal of Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to increase defense spending by individual countries.
According to “European Truth”writes about it Spiegel with reference to sources.
At a recent ministerial meeting, Stoltenberg called on member countries to increase their annual budgets beyond the previous target of 2% of their gross domestic product in the coming years. If Stoltenberg gets his way, the 2% figure should only be the basis for further increases in budgets.
However, several states have expressed domestic objections to Stoltenberg’s plans. Canada, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands, for example, said they could not afford such a large increase in their own defense spending. Therefore, the formal decision of the alliance, which Stoltenberg seeks to achieve at the summit, seems unlikely.
According to the publication, individual member countries justify their skepticism with a difficult financial situation. In a letter to Stoltenberg in mid-February, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crusetto claimed that his country was heavily indebted. “Therefore, an increase in defense investment commitments that negatively impact other important government objectives could be a challenge to public sentiment,” he wrote.
During internal consultations, Canada cited large investment decisions already made, such as new F-35 fighter jets, that would only have an impact in the long term. Like Germany, both countries belong to those NATO members that are still far from the 2% target agreed in 2014.
Recall, MEP, former Prime Minister of Lithuania Andrius Kubilius believes that Ukraine no longer needs any action plan for NATO membership, because it already meets most of the criteria.
