LISBON: Portugal on Monday (Jan 27) stated it was able to convey ahead its deliberate will increase on defence spending – among the many lowest in NATO – to fulfill the defence alliance’s two-per cent of GDP minimal earlier than 2029.
However neighbouring Spain, backside of the pile of NATO members’ defence spending as a proportion of output, refused to budge on its timeline of hitting the two-per cent mark by 2029 throughout a go to by alliance chief Mark Rutte.
Portugal’s announcement got here after the return to energy of US President Donald Trump, who has ceaselessly castigated European members of the alliance for not investing sufficient of their militaries.
The mercurial Republican has prior to now thrown into query whether or not america would defend NATO members who didn’t meet the spending threshold, which he not too long ago instructed needs to be raised to 5 per cent of GDP.
