NATO eyes increased defence budget amid Russian tensions
The proposal to increase NATO defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP emerged as a potential compromise to Donald Trump's demand that Alliance members allocate 5 per cent of GDP for this purpose. Experts believe that such a step could significantly strengthen NATO.
NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, proposed that member states increase defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP and allocate an additional 1.5 per cent of GDP for other security-related expenses, reported Reuters on 2 May.
According to Jakub Palowski, deputy editor-in-chief of the portal defence24.pl and an expert on military modernisation, such a step would be "a big leap and a change in the face of NATO."
In a conversation with "Fakt," he emphasised that while reaching the level of 5 per cent spending on strictly military purposes is unrealistic for many countries, Rutte's proposal is an interesting compromise.
"The planned postulate of spending 3.5 per cent on strictly military purposes and 1.5 per cent on other defence-related objectives is an interesting proposal. Considering where the key European NATO countries are, including those located in Western Europe, and their industrial and technological potential," underscores Palowski.
The current defence spending threshold in NATO countries is set at 2 per cent of GDP, established in 2014. Poland, along with Estonia, the USA, Latvia, and Greece, belongs to the countries that spend the most relative to GDP.
"Countries located near Russia must reckon with having to spend even more. The question is whether the Trump administration would accept this model as a general goal for NATO countries. I would support it," emphasises Jakub Palowski.
Will Russia be intimidated by NATO?
In the context of the growing threat from Russia, which is increasing its military spending, Rutte's proposal gains particular significance.
Russia currently spends 6 per cent of its GDP on military expenses, which is a significant increase compared to the period before the war in Ukraine.
Moreover, the "WSJ" newspaper wrote that Russian military experts describe what is happening at the border with Finland as part of preparations for a potential war with NATO.
"When the troops return (from the war in Ukraine - editor), they will be looking across the border at a country they consider an adversary," said Ruslan Pukhov, director of the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, a Moscow defence think tank, to the American newspaper.
