London wants to accelerate his rearmament. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced this Tuesday, February 25, that the United Kingdom would bring its defense expenses to 2.5 % of GDP by 2027, against 2.3 % currently, to deal with the new challenges of security in Europe.
“I can announce that this government will launch the highest prolonged increase in defense spending since the end of the Cold War,” Keir Starmer said in front of the House of Commons. This increase will be at the expense of the British budget dedicated to international development aid, which will drop from 0.5 % to 0.3 % of GDP over the period, he added.
This announcement by Keir Starmer comes two days before his trip to Washington where he must meet US President Donald Trump, who continues to call on Europeans to increase their contribution to NATO.
A defense budget at 3 % of GDP in 2029
The British Head of Government also said that he intends to set up a strategy for bringing the defense budget to 3 % of GDP “during the next legislature”, from 2029. “We are in a world where everything Changed “since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, said Kier Starmer.
“The nature of the war has changed considerably. It is obvious when we look at the battlefield in Ukraine, and we must therefore modernize and review our capacities,” insisted the Prime Minister.
He also reiterated his country’s support for Ukraine against Russia. “We have to support Ukraine because if we cannot obtain lasting peace, then economic instability and threats to our security will only grow,” he said.