NATO to consider raising defense spending target to 3% of GDP - Bloomberg
Photo: NATO's military spending target could raise up to 3% of GDP (Getty Images)
NATO is planning to set new specific targets for how many tanks, aircraft, and other weapons systems member states need to produce. This could require increasing the alliance's defense spending from 2% to 3% of gross domestic product, Bloomberg reports.
According to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are closed, the plan calls for the governments to meet higher capability requirements, including for munitions, as early as next year.
According to one official, the priorities will be to strengthen air defense, offensive weapons systems, and nuclear deterrence capabilities.
While the goal is to have the goals agreed upon by NATO foreign and defense ministers before the leaders' summit in The Hague in June, that deadline could prove difficult to meet, officials said. One official said that defense ministers will address the topic at their February meeting.
New targets
NATO nations have pledged to increase spending to counter the threat to Europe from Russia's Vladimir Putin and amid demands from new US President Donald Trump, who has pushed allies to take on a greater share of defense responsibilities.
Currently, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization asks allies to spend 2% of gross domestic product on defense. The new targets could raise that goal to 3% of GDP, officials said.
NATO declined to comment, citing remarks made by Secretary General Mark Rutte this month that 2% is simply not enough to maintain a level of deterrence in the long term.
Rutte, a former Dutch Prime Minister who took office in October, has been outspoken about the need for increased alliance spending to counter the growing threat from Putin, who invaded Ukraine in 2022 and insists he is in an existential conflict with the West.
Rutte has also repeatedly emphasized the need for additional investment in the alliance's European military-industrial base, arguing that dependence on the United States is unsustainable. put forward a target of 3%.
“There are capability gaps we need to fill to be able to defend Europe from Russia without the US,” including military mobility and intelligence needs, said Armida van Rij, a senior fellow at Chatham House.
Military spending
Last week, the new EU defense commissioner, Andrius Kubilius, proposed a joint borrowing mechanism for military spending that would be backed by the spending of European NATO members to achieve the alliance's goals. This is part of the bloc's plan to find about €500 billion for security over the next decade.
“We have seen a tremendous resurgence in spending and I’d expect that overall it will continue,” said Olga Oliker, director for Europe and Central Asia at the Brussels-based International Crisis Group. “What that money buys depends on the member states.”
There are wide disparities in defense spending among NATO member states. Poland has allocated a record 186.6 billion zlotys ($46 billion) for defense this year, or 4.7% of GDP, while Germany, the largest provider of EU military aid to Ukraine, will spend 2.1% or €72 billion this year.
