The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson during the summit in Madrid will call on NATO countries to increase defense spending against the backdrop of events in Ukraine.
“NATO keeps our citizens safe every day, but the stakes will be higher over the next 10 years, and it is imperative that allies find resources to strengthen deterrence and defense in the next decade,” Johnson was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
In his speech, Johnson will point out that 2% of GDP is a minimum, not a ceiling, on defense spending, and that allies “should continue to increase defense spending during the current crisis.”
And the Daily Telegraph pointed out that the UK spends 2.3% of GDP on defence, and that the Conservative Party intended to increase this spending by 0.5% more than inflation according to their election platform, but that question would be difficult to enforce. while inflation this year will reach 11%.
The newspaper reported that there were divisions within the British government over the increase in defense spending, with Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss calling for an increase, while Johnson and Treasury Secretary Rishi Sunak believed the country would not bear the spending.
Source: Daily Telegraph.