US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took another swipe at Washington’s NATO and European partners on Saturday, saying those that do not hike defence spending sufficiently “will face a clear shift in how we do business”.
European Union lawmakers voted on Tuesday to deepen integration of the bloc’s defense industry with Ukraine as a U.S. peace plan remains in flux and Russia’s unconventional warfare operations rattle the 27-nation bloc.
Members of the Western NATO military alliance reportedly agreed to increasing defence spending to five per cent of GDP within the next decade in a major victory for U.S. President Donald Trump, who has long demanded that America’s allies pay more for their defence.
A common “European Defence Union” will be necessary to “deter” Russia in light of demands from the Trump administration that the bloc pays for its own defence, EU Chief Ursula von der Leyen said.
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that Europe faces the prospect of “pulverization” if it does not increase defence spending, something she chronically failed to do during her time in office.
President Donald Trump is calling on members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to increase their NATO contributions to five percent of their gross domestic product (GDP).
Canada’s Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre mocked Justin Trudeau for being treated like a “human piñata” during the NATO summit.
Only seven of the thirty members met the two per cent of GDP military spending floor according to a NATO annual report.
Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius admitted this week that the German military is incapable of defending the nation if needed.
Germany unveiled plans to buy dozens of US-made F-35 fighter jets, as part of a multi-billion-euro push to modernise its armed forces.
The German government has come out in opposition to President Donald Trump’s plan to bring American troops home from Afghanistan, arguing that putting an end to America’s longest war would be too “hasty”.
German politicians have lashed out after President Donald Trump’s announcement that the United States will be withdrawing a significant portion of American military personnel from the country over its failure to meet NATO spending commitments.
NATO members increased their defense spending over the course of 2018 following pressure from the United States, yet just six countries are meeting targets set last year by President Donald Trump.
