NATO demands for national plans to increase spending

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, right, and U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim MattisNATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, right, and U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis.(AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

NATO allies that are lagging behind in their spending are facing demands for national plans and targets to up budgets. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg supports the claim.

– I welcome such ideas, said Stoltenberg when he met the press after a difficult discussion on the NATO Defence Ministers meeting.
– There is still a long way to go, and as you know, the picture is mixed. Some allies have really begun to increase budgets, others are striving to increase them.
Only five allies have met its goal of 2 percent of GDP on defense.
We therefore discussed how we can maintain and speed up the countries’ efforts to reach the goal, for example through national plans aimed to ensure smooth progress, he said.
According to Stoltenberg, it is too early to say exactly how such national plans should look like.
US Defense Secretary James Mattis who was at the meeting has threatened that the United States may moderate their commitment to NATO unless other allies increase their defense budgets in the New Year.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today