Polish President Andrzej Duda wants to negotiate with the allies that NATO members must spend three percent of gross domestic product (GDP) annually on defense instead of the current two. "A robust NATO is less likely to be challenged," he said on Monday. The year 2024 will be the first time that European Nato Allies spend 2 percent of their combined GDP on defence expenditure, according to Nato's latest figures.
Flags of NATO member countries at the headquarters of the alliance in Brussels. Photo by OLIVIER HOSLET/PAP/EPA
"I want to propose in the near future... during our visit to the White House... that NATO countries decide together that the alliance's requirement will be to spend not 2 percent, but 3 percent of GDP on defense, and that this will be a limit below which it is absolutely not recommended to go," President Andrzej Duda said during a meeting of Poland's National Security Council, where Poland's top security officials were meeting to discuss President Andrzej Duda's and Prime Minister Donald Tusk's trip to Washington.
Source: YouTube
"Twenty five years ago, the dream of generations of Poles came true. On 12 March 1999 in Independence, Missouri, Poland – along with the Czech Republic and Hungary – was officially admitted to the North Atlantic Alliance (...) Just like a quarter of a century ago, unity and bold decisions are needed today. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the entry of Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary into the North Atlantic Alliance", Polish President Andrzej Duda said this in a speech to the nation on Monday evening. "Today, NATO is sending a clear and strong message about its growing political and military potential by welcoming Finland and Sweden as its members. This is a historic event. (...) More bold decisions are needed. In 2014, Allies pledged to raise military spending to 2% of their GDP. The war in Ukraine has made it clear that the United States is and should remain the leader when it comes to security in Europe and the world. However, the other NATO countries must also take greater responsibility for the security of the whole Alliance – through intensive modernization and strengthening of their militaries. Therefore, I believe that it is necessary to raise the level of defense spending from 2 to 3% of GDP by all members of the Alliance! - Duda added in his speech to the nation.
- The first step should be to encourage all NATO countries to meet the requirement to spend two percent of GDP on defense before we talk about additional proposals. We have seen improvement on this, about two-thirds of them are already doing it, but I think we should take this first step before we talk about this additional proposal - Matthew Miller, spokesman for the US State Department, commented on the Polish president's proposal on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, President Duda and Prime Minister Tusk will be received by US President Joe Biden at the White House. The meeting is being held on the occasion of a quarter of a century since Poland's accession to NATO.
NATO, now numbering 32 members after the recent admission of Sweden, has a commitment to spend two percent of GDP annually on defense. The year 2024 will be the first time that European Nato Allies spend 2 percent of their combined GDP on defence expenditure, according to Nato's latest figures.
Last year, Poland allocated 3.9 percent of GDP to defense, the highest among all the countries in the alliance. The Czech Republic spent 1.5 percent of GDP on defense in 2023. In 2024 the Czech Republic is expected to meet NATO's target of allocating 2% of GDP to defence spending for the first time in n over two decades. Hungary will spend 2.43% on defense in 2024.
(J)