Belgium is not against NATO's target of increasing defense spending to five percent of GDP, but insists on more flexible timelines to achieve it. This was stated by Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken, quoted by local media, BTA reports.
According to Francken, the country will need at least seven years to reach the new level of funding. He stressed that the aid provided by Belgium to Ukraine should be taken into account when calculating defense spending. “There is hardly any country that would dispute the new target“, the minister added.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced that he is proposing a new target - five percent of GDP to be directed to defense, without setting specific deadlines for its implementation. Of this amount, 3.5% is planned to be invested in the acquisition of military equipment, and the remaining 1.5% - in infrastructure and military production.
The proposal will be discussed at the NATO summit in late June in The Hague. Rutte pointed out that the need to increase spending is dictated by the need to overcome the shortcomings in the allies' military capabilities against the background of the increased threat from Russia.
Back in 2014, the alliance countries set a goal of increasing defense spending to 2% of GDP. According to Rutte, almost all allies will reach this threshold by the end of this year.