EU leaders set to raise defense spending above 2% - European Council President
European Council President Antonio Costa (Photo: Getty Images)
President of the European Council, António Costa, stated that EU members who are also part of NATO are likely to agree to raise the target defense spending level above the current 2% of GDP at the alliance's June summit, setting a new benchmark.
US President Donald Trump is pressuring NATO allies to increase defense spending to 5% — a level that none of the 32 NATO member states, including the U.S., currently meet.
Costa has scheduled an informal meeting of European Union leaders next Monday to discuss defense and security investments, he said in an interview with Portuguese RTP.
He added that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer would also be present at the meeting.
New goal
According to Costa, the combined defense spending of the 23 EU countries that are NATO members has already reached the 2% target after they increased their budgets by 30% following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
"There is a very reasonable consensus among member states to continue on this path," he added.
He expects that a target above 2% will be set at the next NATO summit in June.
"Whether it's 5%, whether it's 3%, I don't know, it's a decision that member states will make within NATO," he said.
The European Council, led by Costa, represents the national governments of the 27 EU member states. NATO includes 23 of those countries.
Analysts and officials told Reuters that defense spending at 5% of GDP is politically and economically impossible for almost all NATO members, as it would require billions of dollars in additional funding. However, they say that allies will likely agree to exceed the current 2% target at the June summit.
Threat to NATO
Former Portuguese Prime Minister Costa stated that Russia is the main threat to NATO and that countries must prioritize improvements in air defense systems, missile defense, and electronic warfare.
According to him, defense technology and industry spending will also strengthen the EU economy’s competitiveness, adding that, in the long run, a discussion on "joint financing" of collective defense will become necessary.
France and the Baltic states are pushing for the EU to jointly borrow funds to finance defense spending. The outcome of this debate could depend on national elections next month in Germany, which has so far opposed the idea.
Earlier, it was reported that NATO is considering raising the defense spending benchmark from 2% to 3% of GDP.
