European NATO members are holding talks about increasing the alliance’s target for defense spending to 3 percent of GDP at its annual summit next June partly in anticipation of Donald Trump’s return as US president, Report informs via the Financial Times.
Four people involved in the preliminary talks told the Financial Times they were discussing the steep rise from 2 percent of GDP, a move that would put intense pressure on already strained national budgets and that has raised misgivings in many capitals. Of NATO’s 32 members, 23 will reach the existing 2 percent target this year, according to alliance calculations, up from six in 2018. However, this also means that seven European members, including Italy and Spain, are still failing to meet a benchmark agreed a decade ago.