BRUSSELS: Europe’s Nato members and Canada will jointly raise defence spending by 4.3 per cent in 2017, Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday, partly aimed at showing the United States they are committed to shouldering more costs.
US President Donald Trump has made more expenditure his priority for Nato, using his first alliance meeting in May to scold European leaders about spending, which is at historical lows and does not meet Nato’s goal of 2 per cent of GDP.
This year’s increase represents the fastest spending growth since cuts stopped three years ago. Growth was 1.8 per cent in 2015 and 3.3 per cent last year, but it was unclear how near the new increase takes spending to the alliance’s target.
Figures for individual allies will be released on Thursday, after approval by Nato ambassadors, but overall 2017 spending will be some $280 billion, a cumulative $46 billion jump since cuts left Europe without vital capabilities, such as refuelling airborne fighter bombers.
Only four of Nato’s 27 European members — Greece, Britain, Poland and Estonia — met the spending target in 2016. Romania will do so this year, followed by Latvia and Lithuania in 2018, Stoltenberg said.
Twenty-five of Nato’s 29 allies plan to lift spending this year, he said, a day before Nato defence ministers meet in Brussels to discuss greater security spending on rising threats including deterring a resurgent Russia, dealing with failed states on its borders and protecting against cyber attacks.
“To keep our nations safe, we need to keep working to increase defence spending and fairer burden-sharing across our alliance,” Stoltenberg said.
The new figures are part of a broader rise in military spending in Europe, as the United States commits billions more dollars to return troops and heavy weaponry to the continent to deter Russia, and as the European Union seeks to set up a multi-billion euro defence fund.
“We have really shifted gears, the trend is up and we intend to keep it up,” Stoltenberg said. — Reuters
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
