Trump to initiate an increase in the defense budgets of NATO countries

US presidential candidate Donald Trump, if he wins the US election, is considering increasing spending on NATO defense.

This was reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to The Telegraph.

Donald Trump is considering plans to push NATO members to increase defense spending to 3 percent of GDP if he wins a second term in the White House. This is with the existing threats from Russia and China.

Trump has been considering increasing spending for some time, but was further convinced after meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda last month.

Duda had previously argued that 3 percent (a level reached only by Poland, the United States, and Greece) was necessary to protect against "growing threats," including the beginning of "Russia's direct confrontation with NATO."

Last year, only 11 of the 32 members of the alliance, including the United Kingdom, reached the current target. The rest were the United States, which is by far the largest donor, along with Poland, Greece, Estonia, Lithuania, Finland, Latvia, Hungary, Slovakia, and Denmark.

Luxembourg, which had the smallest defense budget compared to its GDP, spent only 1 percent, while Belgium and Spain spent 1.2 percent.

On Tuesday, Timo Pesonen, a senior EU defense ministry official, said the 3 percent target was already being discussed by some member states behind closed doors.

"When NATO allies increase their budgets to at least one percent of GDP, some are already talking about 3 percent," he said.

Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 04/05/2024