Since 2014, the number of NATO members that allocate two percent of their GDP to defense has increased six times, and European members overall will reach this defense spending goal this year, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday.
“This year, I expect that 18 allies will spend two percent of their GDP on defense, which is a new record and a sixfold increase since 2014, when only three members met that goal,” Stoltenberg said at a press conference ahead of the meeting of defense ministers.
The Secretary General pointed out that the European members will invest a total of 380 billion dollars in defense, which is two percent of their GDP, but he added that another part of the members, who spend less than two percent, must start allocating more for defense.
Stoltenberg said that the defense ministers will discuss the further acceleration of ammunition production and that in the past few months alone, NATO has signed contracts worth 10 billion dollars.
Among other things, this week Germany launched the construction of a new ammunition factory in Lower Saxony, which, when it reaches full production capacity, will produce 200 thousand artillery shells per year.
