The NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, defended, this Thursday, in Brussels, the reinforcement of defense spending, now setting the deadline to reach “the minimum level” of 2% of GDP.
Stoltenberg expects “a stronger commitment” from the governments of NATO member countries, noting that the reference that has been in force until now, for defense spending, was established in another context, which is no longer the case.
“In 2014 we established what we call the Welsh commitment, where we said that we must move towards spending 2% of GDP on Defense, within a decade,” recalled the NATO secretary general, referring to the circumstances current, with “this decade is almost over”.
“The world has become much more dangerous, with an all-out war in Europe, but also with other threats and challenges,” said Jens Stoltenberg, consulted by the TSF on whether “he expects that beyond the 2% floor, a new higher ceiling will eventually be set” for military spending.
“I hope that when the leaders meet in Vilnius next month, they agree to a stronger commitment, a lasting commitment, and a commitment that has to take effect immediately, not a decade from now,” the NATO secretary general replied. at the entrance to the meeting of defense ministers.
For this reason, he understands that the reference of 2% of GDP must now be seen in another way: “2% of GDP for defense is not a kind of ceiling, but rather a minimum level that we have to reach, but it is clear that it is about ongoing consultations between the allies”.
The meeting, which will be attended by Minister Helena Carreiras, will have as its objective “the preparation of the Vilnius summit”, in which “the exact language” of one of the central aspects will be refined, which is “the issue of reinforcing the commitment to invest more in defense”, detailed Stoltenberg.
Sweden in NATO?
A few weeks before the summit, in which the 32nd member of the Atlantic Alliance was expected to join, expectations are minimal, after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that NATO should not count on Ankara’s endorsement for the entry of Sweden.
The statements by the Turkish president came on the day that the representatives of NATO, Sweden, Finland and Turkey met in Ankara to assess the state of the negotiations.
But Turkey claims that Sweden has not considered all the security issues mentioned by Ankara. However, the NATO secretary general is confident that it will be possible to include Sweden among the members of the alliance within the next month.
“Sweden may be in NATO until the Vilnius Summit. I can’t guarantee that will happen, but I’m still working hard to secure Sweden’s membership as soon as possible,” Stoltenberg said, saying Sweden has delivered on what it promised. .
“Sweden fulfilled the commitments it made at the Madrid Summit last year, such as removing restrictions on arms exports, strengthening cooperation with Turkey in the fight against terrorism. Sweden amended the Constitution and strengthened anti-terrorism legislation,” he stated.
Source: TSF
