Europeans $100 billion short of NATO spending pledge, says study
Europe would need to boost defence spending by more than $100 billion to hit the NATO spending pledge that has stirred much anger by US President Donald Trump, a study showed on 15 February 2019.
The failure of many European allies to get even close to the NATO target of spending 2% of their national output on defence by 2024 has infuriated Trump, who accuses them of freeloading. Figures from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) showed that NATO’s 27 European countries fell short of the 2% target by $102 billion in 2018.
The IISS’s annual Military Balance report said European NATO members would ‘collectively have had to increase their spending by 38%’ to hit the 2% target in 2018.
Trump’s anger over spending has fuelled concern about his commitment to the transatlantic alliance, culminating in an explosive summit last year where he launched a blistering public attack on Berlin in a televised meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel.
US military spending dwarfs that of the rest of the alliance - in 2018 Washington spent nearly $650 billion on defence, compared with around $250 billion for all the European NATO members combined, according to the IISS report.
NATO expects seven European countries to meet the 2% target when final figures for 2018 are calculated - up from just three a year earlier. But while Germany is making efforts to boost military spending, the sheer size of its economy means it is hard to quickly increase the percentage relative to its hefty gross domestic product (GDP).
To hit the 2% target, analysts say Berlin would need to vastly raise its defence expenditure between 2017 and 2024 - a problematic undertaking in any country, let alone one with Germany’s post-war history of unease about military strength.
The increase in US spending alone from 2017 to 2018 - around $45 billion - almost equalled the entire German defence budget, the report noted.
You may also like
More from Defence Notes
-
![From systems integrator to multi-domain solutions provider (video)]()
From systems integrator to multi-domain solutions provider (video)
Philipp von Brandenstein, Head of Corporate Communications at Rheinmetall, explains how Eurosatory 2026 marked a new stage in the company's evolution.
-
![US Pentagon pushes for major reform of defence acquisition system]()
US Pentagon pushes for major reform of defence acquisition system
The US Department of Defense has requested new contracting authorities from Congress, using the Army's MV-75 Cheyenne programme to demonstrate how competition, digital engineering and closer industry collaboration could accelerate acquisitions.
-
![US speeds up B61-13 nuclear bomb production as programme moves further ahead of schedule]()
US speeds up B61-13 nuclear bomb production as programme moves further ahead of schedule
The US government plans to accelerate production even further after achieving key B61-13 milestones months ahead of schedule, as the programme advances amid growing US-China strategic competition.
-
![Canada’s C$2 billion ACSV deal reinforces new defence industrial strategy as allies align]()
Canada’s C$2 billion ACSV deal reinforces new defence industrial strategy as allies align
General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada is the country’s first strategic partner under the Defence Industrial Strategy’s Strategic Partnership Framework, an effort to provide companies with confidence to invest and boost the defence labour force.
-
![New UK armed forces minister frames High North defence as vital to “homeland security”]()
New UK armed forces minister frames High North defence as vital to “homeland security”
The UK’s Minister for the Armed Forces Louise Sandher-Jones made her first appearance in the role before the House of Commons Defence Committee this week to highlight efforts to improve capability in the High North.
-
![Canada seeks to strengthen industrial ties with the US on classified programmes]()
Canada seeks to strengthen industrial ties with the US on classified programmes
Ottawa explores expanding defence-industrial cooperation with Washington into sensitive programmes, an approach that could reshape NORAD modernisation, strengthen North American supply chains and create new opportunities for defence contractors.
