NATO's Defense Spending Rises, Secretary General Says
By Jim Garamone DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, June 14, 2016 – Overall NATO defense spending has reversed trends of past years and is rising, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in Brussels yesterday.
The secretary general spoke on the eve of a two-day NATO defense ministers conference, the last such meeting before the NATO summit in Warsaw, Poland, next month. Defense Secretary Ash Carter is attending the meetings.
After the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, NATO defense spending dropped, Stoltenberg said. NATO's goal, he said, was for allies to spend about 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense, but few countries did so.
The rise of a revanchist Russia and its actions in Georgia and in annexing Crimea from Ukraine shocked Europe, Stoltenberg said. At the last NATO summit in Wales, NATO members vowed to increase defense spending in response.
Last year saw was a small uptick in defense spending across Europe and Canada, Stoltenberg said. "Our estimates for 2016 show a further increase across NATO's European allies and Canada," said he added. "These are only estimates. But they are encouraging."
The annual real change in NATO defense spending, he said, currently stands at around 1.5 percent, which represents an increase of more than $3 billion.
Plans to Boost Defense Spending
Some 20 NATO allies plan to spend more in real terms on defense this year, Stoltenberg said.
"So, this is real progress," he said. "After many years of going in the wrong direction, we are starting to go into the right direction."
With more money comes increased capabilities, Stoltenberg said, noting that NATO has agreed to place four battalions in the eastern nations of the alliance.
"Based on the advice of our military planners, we will agree to deploy by rotation four robust multinational battalions in the Baltic states and in Poland," he said. "This will send a clear signal that NATO stands ready to defend any ally.
The alliance has tripled the size of the NATO Response Force to 40,000 troops, Stoltenberg said, and has at its core a new Spearhead Force of 5,000 troops ready to move within days.
The alliance will place more pre-positioned equipment in the region, striking the right balance between "a greater ability to reinforce and a boost to our forward presence," he said.
NATO member nations also have worked to speed up troop transport in Europe, the secretary general said.
Making Progress
"National governments and parliaments have worked very hard to update procedures and remove hurdles, and we have made significant progress," he said. "Last month, the Spearhead Force conducted an exercise which showed how far we have come. One thousand troops and 400 military vehicles moved from Spain to Poland -- within four days. We will continue to work to improve freedom of movement for our troops and equipment, because when a crisis emerges, speed can make a difference."
Still, the alliance needs to do more, Stoltenberg said, "both to increase the level of defense spending towards 2 percent, and to spend on the priorities we have identified as an alliance."
During their meetings, NATO defense ministers will discuss Afghanistan, the Middle East, Libya, NATO transformation and other issues in the run-up to the Warsaw Summit.
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