Politico: only seven out of 30 NATO members were able to achieve the goal of spending at least 2% on defenseOnly seven of the 30 NATO members were able to achieve the previously agreed common goal of spending 2% of GDP on defense, writes Politico.
Countries promise to increase spending, but, as experts interviewed by the publication note, saying and doing are not the same thing.
Lily BayerIn 2022, only seven of the 30 members of the alliance spent at least 2% of GDP on defense needs.
Even the armed conflict could not force the major European powers to make efforts to achieve the targets of defense spending.
According to a NATO report released on Tuesday, March 21, all of Europe's largest economies have so far failed to achieve the common goal of spending at least 2% of GDP on defense needs.
In 2022, only seven of the 30 members of the alliance spent at least 2% of GDP on defense needs. Meanwhile, Germany spent only 1.49%, Italy – 1.51%, and France – 1.89%.
And although these amounts amount to billions of euros, officials and experts warn that NATO members will have to spend much more money to ensure their security.
An analysis of the alliance members' spending for 2022 shows that, although the allies have invested significantly more money in their armed forces for years, many of them are still significantly behind the spending target, which was set in 2014 and is 2% of GDP.
Of the 30 members of the alliance, only Greece, Poland, the Baltic States, the United Kingdom and the United States spent more than 2% of their GDP on defense last year, as stated in the annual report of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Estonia spent 2.12% of its GDP on military needs last year. As the country's Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas, said, she was "very shocked" when she saw who was doing and who was not doing the task.
"It's impossible! I think everyone should understand now – knowing and seeing what is happening in Ukraine – that we simply don't have time," she said in an interview with Politico.
But the Stoltenberg report nevertheless emphasizes that the allies are tirelessly investing in defense and are now spending noticeably more on military needs than when this target was agreed.
"European allies and Canada have been increasing defense spending for the eighth year in a row," the report says."In total, over the past eight years, thanks to this increase, the alliance's budget has been replenished by $ 350 billion."
Plans to increase investments
Nevertheless, America remains the main "money bag" of NATO.
Although the United States accounts for 54% of the alliance's economic productivity, they, as noted in the report, take on 70% of defense spending.
The United Kingdom is next in the list of countries in terms of spending, accounting for 6% of the alliance's total spending. Next comes Germany – about 5%.
According to one senior European diplomat, who asked to keep his name secret, at the moment it is very important that there is a positive trajectory and that many members of the alliance plan to increase investments in defense.
"Some countries have already announced their intention to spend at least 2.5% of GDP, and some - even more. There are countries that have not yet achieved their goal, but at least they have a plan," the diplomat explained.
"The trend is positive," he added. "Although we still need to invest more money."
Many within the alliance understand that promising to increase defense spending and actually increasing it is not the same thing.
"Political statements about strengthening the defense capability are welcome," said a senior official of the Ministry of Defense of a Central European country. But, according to him, making promises is easy.
"Spending significant additional amounts of money on defense is very difficult in practice," the official added. He also pointed out numerous bottlenecks affecting the costs of European countries.
Such bottlenecks include inefficient defense planning, a shortage of raw materials for the production of weapons and ammunition, lengthy procurement processes and limited production capacity, which can take years to expand.
"Real defense spending will increase at some point, but it will take at least a few years - provided that political resolve does not weaken," the official added.
On Tuesday, Stoltenberg praised the allies for the progress they have made since 2014, but stressed that new promises must now turn into real money, contracts and equipment. The head of NATO also noted that he would insist on agreeing on a more ambitious goal, within which 2% of GDP would be the minimum.
Diverse security threats
Experts warn that achieving the target of 2% of GDP is far from the only criterion that will matter now that the alliance has to confront growing security threats.
During the debate around the 2% goal, "more attention is paid to the size of the contribution to the collective security of the alliance than to the results of using these funds," said Seamus P. Daniels, a researcher engaged in defense budget analysis at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"NATO members should invest adequate amounts in defense," he said, "but we should pay more attention to whether the allies have at their disposal the modern means and forces necessary to ensure collective security."
Another European diplomat also acknowledged the existence of problems on this front. He explained that, for example, Germany has not yet used funds from its new military modernization fund in the amount of one hundred billion euros. And some allies invest money in expensive military equipment, not having sufficient forces to carry out operations using this equipment.
However, the diplomat also pointed to several factors driving European defense investment, including the economic benefits of spending and possible political shifts in the United States.
Officials and experts expect Washington to continue to play a leading role in NATO, but many agree that regardless of who is in the White House, America's attention will increasingly shift to Asia.
Although the current US administration strongly supports the idea of strengthening NATO and spends huge sums on providing assistance to Ukraine, some American politicians, including candidates for participation in the presidential elections from the Republican Party, doubt the expediency of such spending.
According to the European diplomat, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict "has changed perceptions, and now everyone understands that the United States has other priorities besides Europe."
He added that now many are afraid of a possible "return of the Republicans."
