Secretary -General of the Marcrutter North Western Treaty Organization (NATO), US President Donald Trump, British Prime Minister of Kerstore, Prime Minister Victor Orvan Hungary On the 25th (local time), he is taking a commemorative photo at the Hague NATO summit in the Netherlands. Reuters Yonhap News
32 member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) agreed to increase the national defense budget to 5% of GDP by 2035.
NATO leaders said they would put at least 3.5 % of GDP to core defense demands and submit annual plans to implement the NATO Military Competency Goal, which is a power -enhancing plan, in the joint statement of the summit held in Hague, Netherlands.
In addition, the company has agreed to spend up to 1.5 % of GDP on indirect security expenses such as core infrastructure protection, network defense, and strengthening the defense industry.
The 5%total defense expenditure ratio compared to the GDP, which was agreed this time, doubled the average defense ratio (2.61%) last year.
The leaders of NATO also acknowledged the collective defense system, saying, “We reaffirm the promise of collective defense specified in Article 5 of the NATO.” Ukraine’s mention of Ukraine was excluded from the joint statement.
This decision was made in the midst of anxiety that the United States would step out of European defense. Earlier, US President Donald Trump needed to reduce his own defense costs, demanding a 5%increase in defense expenses to NATO member states. US military reductions in Europe have also been raised.
However, it should be more watched whether European countries, which are suffering from economic difficulties, will be able to realize the increase in defense costs. The German Think Tank Neuroje Foundation (NEF) estimated that in order to achieve the ‘National Defense GDP 5%’, NATO’s European Union (EU) member countries must increase their spending of 61.3 billion euros per year. Earlier, the Belgian government also insisted that it would be unrealistic to raise defense costs to 5%and lower the standard to 3.5%.
There is also a strong public opinion against the increase of defense costs in NATO member states. On the 22nd, in the city of Hague, citizens against the increase of military spending and war were protested. They feared that if they increased their military budgets, they would reduce their budget in welfare and climate.
Experts predicted that NATO’s national defense increase will accelerate the world’s arms competition. The Swedish think tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has already recorded military spending from around the world last year, reaching $ 2.71 trillion (about 3915 trillion won), the highest since the Cold War in 1988.
As NATO member states agree to raise their defense expenses, Korea, which is under pressure from the Trump administration, is expected to be affected. Earlier, the US Department of Defense suggested that the Asian alliance, including Korea, should spend defense spending at 5% of GDP. Korea has set a national defense budget in 2025, which is 2.32%of GDP, 61.2469 billion won.
