Belgium is leaving NATO free-riders’ club, but ‘not just to please Trump’
Belgium’s defence spending is "about to leap" — and not just to stay in US President Donald Trump’s good books, the country's defence minister has said.
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NATO spending
Popular articles tagged "NATO spending"
Black Hawks down: Poland back-pedals on purchase of US helicopters
Poland has cancelled the procurement procedure for the purchase of 32 Lockheed Martin S-70i Black Hawk helicopters for the Polish Army.
NATO demands for major German military expansion ‘may speed reintroduction of draft’
The German military will have to vastly expand its personnel count to keep up with new demands by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) – which might bring…
The Eurofighter charade: Turkey’s rise and the EU’s defence disarray
The European Union’s dream of strategic autonomy lies in tatters, undermined by the United Kingdom, a non-EU power, steering talks to sell 40 Eurofighter Typhoon…
Swedish PM believes NATO defence spending target will hit 3.5 per cent of GDP
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said he anticipated that the NATO members' defence spending norm would sharply rise in the short term.
Spain ‘must boost defence spending’, says EC as Putin ‘hopes no need for nuclear weapons’ in Ukraine war
Spain will have to raise defence spending to 3 per cent of gross domestic product, European Commissioner for Defence Industry and Space Andrius Kubilius said.
Europeans have only two months left to keep the Americans in and the Russians out
The annual NATO summit in Brussels on June 24 and 25 is likely to be the most consequential in decades.
Russia ‘will never rule central and eastern Europe’
Polish foreign minister Radosław Sikorski says NATO could soon outspend Russia by 17-1 on defence if members of the alliance hit the 5 per cent GDP target on…
‘EU must spend more on defence or risk war with Russia,’ says Lithuanian minister
Europe must remove borrowing limits for defence spending or face the prospect of war with Russia, according to Lithuanian defence minister Dovile Sakaliene.
Belgian minister Francken: ‘Transfer some social security funding to defence’
Belgium’s defence minister Theo Francken has sparked debate after proposing that a portion of its social security budget be reallocated to strengthen national…
High tax + high welfare + low defence = European good life threatened by Trump
When one looks at Europe’s responses to the threats which have faced it in the past few years – the Trump administration demanding they defend themselves, Russia’s…
Trans-Atlantic trade tensions show signs of destabilising NATO
NATO allies have scrambled to preserve unity as a growing US-European Union trade dispute threatened to overshadow efforts to boost military spending.
Finland to revoke ban on anti-personnel landmines and boost defence spending
Finland has announced it will withdraw from the Ottawa Convention, an international agreement banning the production and use of anti-personnel landmines.
Dutch plan to more than double armed forces
Dutch State Secretary for Defence Gijs Tuinman said he aimed to significantly ramp up the country's armed forces, contemplating some "unconventional" measures to…
No military sovereignty? EU defence equipment in US hands heightens concerns
As transatlantic relations have grown increasingly strained, concerns over European military sovereignty have been mounting.
US expands global arms dominance as Russian exports decline
According to a report published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the US has accounted for more than 60 per cent of European NATO…
Poland seeks nuclear weapons cover and wants military training for all its men
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has announced that the government wanted to introduce military training for all adult males and that his country would seek to…
‘Increased defence spending couldn’t come at worse time,’ says ING think-tank
ING Economics, the think-tank of international lender ING Bank, has warned that the planned €800 billion spending spree on defence announced by the European Commission…
‘Not a single NATO army is ready to resist the cascade of drones’, Ukraine commander warns
NATO armed forces are not ready for a modern drone war, the military commander in charge of Ukraine's unmanned systems warned three years into a conflict with…
‘Poland only has ammunition for three days of war,’ says presidential hopeful
Sławomir Mentzen, the Polish presidential candidate of the right-wing Confederation party, has claimed that if war broke out Poland would only have enough ammunition…
‘Buy, buy, buy!’: Denmark to boost military spending by €6.7bn
Denmark has said it will increase its military budget by a combined 50 billion Danish krone (€6.
Doubts surface over continued US military presence in Poland
Pete Hegseth, the US Defence Secretary, has praised Poland’s efforts in ramping up military spending to 5 per cent of its GDP.
EU and Canada defence spend up by 20% in 2024, says NATO chief Rutte
Defence spending by NATO's European members and Canada was 20 per cent higher in 2024 than the previous year, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said, ahead of a…
‘Prepare for war,’ NATO Secretary General Rutte tells members
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has told the military alliance's member states to "prepare for war" and significantly increase defence spending.
US does not want to defend Europe any more, but Europeans say ‘Ho-hum’
If you have paid attention to European defence issues and NATO conversations these past few weeks, you’d have thought that something got into the water in the…
‘We are a reliable partner’ says Spain after Trump’s veiled criticism
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has responded to US President Donald Trump’s repeated criticisms of Europe’s defence spending.
Sweden to test ‘drone swarm’ as country bolsters NATO defence
Sweden has announced it is going to test new "drone swarm" technology amid reports the country has been increasing its level of defence integration with the rest…
Germany’s Habeck calls for hike to 3.5 per cent of GDP on defence spending
Robert Habeck, the German economy minister and Greens candidate for chancellor, has proposed a dramatic increase in the country's defence spending to 3.
Greece in talks with Israel to develop €2bn ‘Iron Dome’
Greece is in talks with Israel to develop a €2 billion ($2.
Lithuania ‘may bypass EU’s fiscal rules to boost defence’
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has indicated that his country might disregard the European Union's fiscal rules to strengthen its defence capabilities.