After Russia started military operations in Ukraine in 2022, the defence budgets of EU countries increased by 20%.
This development was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the European defence industry conference in Brussels, Report reported, citing foreign media. According to von der Leyen, this growth is due to the underfunding of this area in recent years.
“Our national military budgets have increased by 20% compared to 2022, and these funds have begun to compensate for the underfunding of the military sphere in recent years,” she said.
The President of the European Commission also called for the European military industry to be brought together under leadership to increase its efficiency.
In 2023, EU countries spent an average of 1.7% of their GDP on defence. Moreover, since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, European armies have purchased 78% of new equipment from outside the EU. In 2024, Germany will reach NATO’s defence spending target of 2% of GDP for the first time. Josep Borrel, the European Union’s head of European diplomacy, said the other day that military spending should be increased to more than 2% of GDP.
On the other hand, according to calculations made by the German Institute for Economic Research (IFO) for the Financial Times, NATO’s defence spending target of 2% of GDP is unlikely to be reached in the near future due to the low growth rates of some EU countries. Italy, Spain and Belgium are among these countries.
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