All member countries contribute to NATO's budget (Photo: NATO)
After a meeting of the North Atlantic Council on 14 December, allies agreed to NATO’s military budgets for 2022. The amount agreed on was fixed at €1.56 billion ($1.76 billion). All member countries contribute to the budgets, according to an agreed cost-sharing formula based on gross national income.
The budget will cover the operating costs of NATO command structure headquarters and programmes, missions and operations around the world, but has reduced 3% from that underwritten in 2021.
NATO also announced its civil budget: €289.1 million ($327.6 million). It will provide funds for civilian personnel, operating costs and civilian programme expenditures - up 8.9% on 2021 - due to NATO’s continuing cyber adaptation.
In addition to the civil and military budgets, the alliance’s third main common funded element is the NATO Security Investment Programme (NSIP). Covering major construction and C2 system costs, the 2022 ceiling for the NSIP stands at €790 million.
Any potential ‘Arctic Sentry’ mission would be months in the planning, but with tensions high in the region given the US’s push for Greenland, NATO countries will need to continue to emphasise their commitment to the region, analysts have said.
Defence Minister Gen Vladimir Padrino López has declared that the Venezuelan armed forces “will continue to employ all its available capabilities for military defence”.
The UK’s defence spending commitments remain uncertain as the government’s Defence Investment Plan, which had been due by the end of 2025, is yet to be published.
Disruption of infrastructure in Europe, whether by cyberattack, physical damage to pipelines or uncrewed aerial vehicles flying over major airports, as has happened more recently, is on the rise. What is the most effective way of countering the aerial aspect of this not-so-open warfare?
The US State Department’s approval of a multi-billion-dollar sale of weapons to Taiwan includes tactical mission networks equipment, uncrewed aerial systems, artillery rocket systems and self-propelled howitzers as well as anti-tank guided missiles.
Ireland’s multi-annual investment in capital defence spending is set to rise from €300m in 2026 to €360m in 2029–2030 with major upgrades across land, air, maritime and cyber domains.
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