More than 20 of 32 NATO allies spending at least 2% of GDP on defense, Stoltenberg says
CNN
The United States and NATO are expected to announce Monday that the number of allied countries spending at least 2% of their country’s economic output on defense has doubled during President Joe Biden’s term.
The United States and NATO are expected to announce Monday that the number of allied countries spending at least 2% of their country’s economic output on defense has doubled during President Joe Biden’s term. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is visiting Washington and meeting with Biden ahead of the city’s hosting of the alliance’s annual summit, set to take place in July. “Just five years ago, there was still less than 10 allies that spent 2% of GDP on defense,” Stoltenberg said during remarks at The Wilson Center in Washington. “I can only now reveal that this year, more than 20 allies will spend at least 2% of GDP on defense.” “This is good for Europe,” he added. “And good for America.” It was not immediately clear which countries are not yet meeting the defense-spending benchmarks. But the number of countries that are meeting those goals has steadily increased since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago. Several NATO member countries that either border Russia or are nearby have hiked their defense spending since 2022.
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