European Union countries collectively spend 1.9% of their GDP on defense, while Russia spends up to 9%.
The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, appealed to members of the European Parliament to increase defense spending to Russian levels. His speech took place on the eve of the vote for the new composition of the European Commission, which von der Leyen will lead for the second time. The BBC reported this on Wednesday, November 27.
EU countries collectively spend 1.9% of their GDP on defense, while Russia spends up to 9%.
“Something’s wrong here,” he said.
The figure announced by von der Leyen reflects Russia’s total budget expenditure on defense and security, which is about 8% of GDP, or about 40% of all budget spending. Russia’s net defense spending has been growing throughout the years of the full-scale war against Ukraine and will reach 6.3% of GDP by 2025.
NATO countries have a goal of bringing defense spending to 2% of GDP; by 2024, 23 of the alliance’s 32 members had reached this level. The EU also includes neutral countries that are not members of NATO and do not have large armies, such as Ireland, Austria, Malta and Cyprus.
“We must be as ambitious as the threats from Russia,” von der Leyen stressed.
Let’s remember that von der Leyen recently spoke with US President-elect Donald Trump. Among other things, the politicians discussed Ukraine.
The President of the European Commission also emphasized that Europe is ready for winter, despite Russian reports about the cessation of gas supplies, especially in Austria.
Source: korrespondent
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