Belgium Will Hit 2% NATO Defence Spending Target This Year, Says Minister

The army's 2025 budget is exploding to reach 2% of GDP. Apart from an effort of one billion for Ukraine, the allocation of complementary resources remains uncertain. The minister's general policy note does not make it much clearer. ...

Belgium Will Hit 2% NATO Defence Spending Target This Year, Says Minister

By Nikolaus J. Kurmayer (EurActiv) -- Belgium will invest an extra €4 billion in military programmes to hit NATO's 2% of GDP spending target for the first time this year, Defence Minister Theo Francken has said.  In a submission to the national parliament, Francken said that his department is committing to buying more ammunition, cruise...

Belgium will hit 2% NATO defence spending target this year, says minister

“We will achieve 2% GDP this year and not in 2029 or 2035,” Theo Francken has said.

Prime Minister Bart De Wever and Minister of Defence Theo Francken are pushing for more economic return for Belgium in the billion-dollar order for some 400 new armoured tank vehicles in France. De Wever will speak to President Emmanuel Macron about it on Tuesday.

Portugal misses defense spending target

Portugal was the sixth NATO country that invested the least in Defence last year, below the 2% threshold of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for military spending, with personnel expenses representing the largest share.