NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said NATO spending was up and approaching 2% of national GDP for all European members. (Photo: NATO)
European NATO members will invest an average of 2% of their annual GDP in defence by the end of 2024 with 18 countries meeting the target in 2024, up from just three in 2014.
In the face of criticism from former US President Donald Trump while he was in the Whitehouse and during recent campaign speeches, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg noted the rise in spending after a defence ministers’ meeting on February 15 when the Ukraine Defence Contact Group also met.
Stoltenberg said since the Defence Investment Pledge was made in 2014, European Allies and Canada have added more
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The initial document focused more on creating the right partnerships and inspiring investment in defence than on any details of how future UK Armed Forces would be armed.
The first stage of developing a new UK Defence Industrial Strategy has highlighted failings in current structures with solutions expected to be proposed in next year’s full strategy.
Romania joined NATO more than two decades ago and the country is vital to the alliance’s geographic reach and its ability to supply Ukraine with weapons.
Although Trump’s geopolitics policy for Europe remains unclear, defence analysts from the US and Europe predict how his incoming administration would attempt to handle critical issues on the continent.
The UK budget announced in Parliament on 30 October was the first by a Labour government in 14 years which has also launched a review into defence procurement programmes.
The Australian government has placed a focus on Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) which has included the purchase of additional long-range rocket systems and investments in local production of missiles.
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