How much money does it take for effective deterrence and defense? This topic has long been debated in NATO. Shortly before the summit in Lithuania there is now a compromise. It is also said to be an embassy to Russia.
In view of the threat from Russia, the NATO countries have agreed to tighten the common target for national defense spending.
The 31 alliance members want to spend at least two percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defense in the future. The previous goal only stipulated that all allied states approach the benchmark of spending at least two percent of their GDP on defense by 2024. It was adopted at a summit in Wales in 2014.
New target to appear in NATO summit statement
The new two percent target is now to be included in the declaration of the NATO summit, which begins on Tuesday in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. The summit meeting will also deal with strengthening deterrence against Russia and continued support for Ukraine.
For Germany and almost 20 other NATO countries, the new target means that they will have to significantly increase their defense spending in the coming years. The Federal Republic recently increased its expenditure relevant to NATO by ten percent to around 64 billion euros.
Germany has so far clearly missed the two percent mark
So far, however, the alliance has fallen far short of its target. According to current comparative figures, NATO estimates that Germany will achieve a quota of 1.57 percent this year. With the help of a special fund for defense amounting to 100 billion euros, which was decided last year, the two percent quota is now to be reached in 2024.
However, it is unclear how things will continue once the special fund has been used up. According to a study by the German Economic Institute, the share of GDP could fall back to below two percent as early as 2026. Most recently, the United States was the frontrunner within NATO in terms of the relationship between economic power and defense spending. According to estimates published on Friday, they currently have a rate of 3.49 percent.