EU Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius, commenting on the US demands for NATO members to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP, stated that we need to see how they themselves will increase their spending, as they currently spend only 3.5%. He said this during a telethon on Saturday, reports UNN.
Details
In response to the question of whether European countries are ready to increase their defense budgets to 5% of GDP as demanded by Washington, Kubilius replied: "Let's see how Washington itself will increase its defense spending to 5%, as they currently spend only 3.5%."
Kubilius noted that there are European countries that spend more or around 5%, for example, Poland.
"My own country - Lithuania - has just announced that it plans to spend 5% not due to pressure from Trump, but because we have made a clear strategic assessment of what defense capability we need to have to protect ourselves," Kubilius said.
Kubilius noted that many European intelligence sources predict that Russia may try to test EU or NATO countries by 2030, which is why Lithuania has made the decision to increase defense spending to 5%.
"Now we hope that at the NATO summit, which will take place in June, a decision will be made that will stipulate that countries currently spending around 2% should increase this to 3%, or even more. This will be a significant increase," Kubilius stated.
Supplement
In January 2025, US President Donald Trump again asked all NATO member countries to increase defense spending to 5% of their gross domestic product.
Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz stated that Poland supports Donald Trump's demand for NATO countries to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP, even if it takes 10 years for some alliance members who are lagging behind.