The former US president Donald Trump said last week that Washington will not inevitably protect countries that neglect the obligations set by NATO.
French Minister of Defense Sebastien Lecornu announced on Thursday that the country will spend around two percent of the national gross domestic product on defense spending this year.
– France will achieve the two percent goal set by NATO in 2024, Lecornu told reporters upon arriving at the meeting of defense ministers of the NATO countries to be held in Brussels today.
In recent years, France’s defense spending has been around 1.9 percent.
By the end of this decade, France plans to invest a total of 413 billion euros in its armed forces, which means a significant increase in defense spending.
France previously estimated that it would only reach the two percent target money level set by NATO in 2025.
The United States is demanding increases
Former President of the United States Donald Trump said last week that Washington under his leadership will not inevitably protect countries that do not spend the sums required for NATO membership on their defense.
The United States has previously, under the leadership of different presidents, demanded the European members of NATO to increase their defense spending, but the threat of cutting off military support is new.
After Russia attacked Ukraine almost two years ago, many NATO countries have started to increase their defense spending.
Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday that the European member states of NATO will spend a total of 354 billion euros on defense this year.
The amount corresponds to approximately two percent of the countries’ combined gross domestic product in 2024. Last year, the corresponding figure was 1.85 percent.
Source: Reuters