Eighteen of the 31 countries from NATO will reach the target of spending 2% of their gross domestic product on the defense sector in 2024, said the secretary general of NATOJens Stoltenberg, this Wednesday (14).
“I expect 18 allies to spend 2% of their GDP on defense this year,” Jens Stoltenberg said at a press conference in Brussels.
He added that global military spending is expected to set another record year as Russia's war against Ukraine enters a third year.
European NATO states will invest a combined total of $380 billion in defense this year, Stoltenberg added.
The Germany will meet the 2% target this year for the first time since the end of the Cold War.
By 2023, eleven allies were expected to have reached the 2% target, according to previous estimates from NATO: Poland, United States, Greece, Estonia, Lithuania, Finland, Romania, Hungary, Latvia, United Kingdom and Slovakia.
The new figures come just days after former US President Donald Trump shocked Europeans by suggesting that the United States would not protect allies that did not spend enough on defense against a potential Russian invasion.
Source: CNN Brasil
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