Nato members urged to raise defence spend above 2% of GDP

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg yesterday called on the alliance’s 31 members to increase their defence investment pledges above the target of 2 per cent of GDP.

“In a contested and dangerous world, we cannot take security for granted,” said Mr Stoltenberg, during the opening of a meeting of Nato foreign affairs ministers, at the alliance’s Brussels headquarters. “We must invest in our defence.”

Not all Nato members endorse his calls, and the divisions were apparent as ministers arrived at the meeting after participating in a flag-raising ceremony on Tuesday to accept Finland into the alliance.

The meetings are largely devoted to preparing a heads of government summit in Lithuania in July, during which Mr Stoltenberg hopes that allies will increase their defence pledges. Allies first committed to a minimum of 2 per cent of their GDP to defence spending in 2006, a pledge which was renewed in 2014.

But most countries still lag behind that goal, which should be “a floor, not a ceiling”, according to Mr Stoltenberg.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year has heightened security fears within the alliance and its members rushed to increase military production.

Some Nato members – mostly those that border Russia, such as Poland – have increased spending and publicly stated targets above 2 per cent of GDP.

Estonia has been leading a push for the target to be raised to 2.5 per cent of GDP. A quarter of the sum should go to new capabilities investments, said Estonian Foreign Affair Minister Urmas Reinsalu. Estonia is committed to spending 3 per cent of its GDP on defence.

Mr Reinsalu’s Czech and North Macedonian counterparts said their countries had pledged to reach the 2 per cent target by next year. The strongest resistance came from Germany. Foreign Affairs Minister Annalena Baerbock acknowledged Nato members in Eastern Europe had concerns.

She said that it was important to not just talk about “raw numbers”.

“Measuring by GDP means that in economically difficult times, where your budget and economic strength tend to be smaller, you can achieve Nato goals without having achieved anything militarily,” she said.