NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced today that 18 NATO member countries will achieve the goal of 2% of their GDP in defense spending by 2024.
“This year I expect that 18 NATO allied countries will spend the 2% of GDP for defense,” said G. Stoltenberg, during a press conference he gave today in Brussels, ahead of tomorrow’s Council of Defense Ministers of the North Atlantic Alliance.
“It is a record” and a “significant increase” he added, recalling that in 2014 only three countries met the target of 2% of GDP in defense spending. He also emphasized that in 2024 the European countries of NATO will invest a total of 380 billion dollars in defense. “This is real progress, which shows that European allies are spending more,” Stoltenberg continued, noting, however, that some countries are far from the 2% target, which is the minimum threshold.
Asked to comment on former US President Donald Trump’s statements, Stoltenberg said that “we should not undermine the credibility of NATO’s response”. This, he stressed, is something that applies to our credibility, but also to how we communicate, “because deterrence is in the minds of our adversaries and we should leave no room for miscalculations and misunderstandings in Moscow about readiness us and our commitment to protect our allies.”
The reason this is being done is to prevent conflict, not to provoke it, he added.
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