U.S. President Donald Trump strengthened calls to other NATO members to increase their expenditures for the army, which often demanded during its first term.
Numerous members were barely waiting to show that they accepted his message and that they had already increased military spending, especially after the Russian invasion of Ukraine 2022.
NATO said an increase of 20 percent of the union members of the Alliance increased their total defense consumption to more than 485 billion dollars.
– I am looking forward to hosting NATO defense ministers next week, where we will discuss more and better investment in defense – said Rutte, answering the Reuters’ request for the latest consumption figures.
– We increased the figures. They grow. In fact, the consumption of Europe and Canada increased by 20 percent in 2024, which has increased by 640 to $ 700 billion in recent years – said.
NATO said “last years” refer to the period from 2014, when members of the transatlantic military alliance agreed on the goal of consuming two percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) to defense.
(Vijesti.ba / Fena)
