NATO – In 2024, 18 NATO member countries are to hit the target of earmarking at least 2% of their GDP for defence, the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg announced on Wednesday ahead of the meeting of NATO defence ministers. According to the high NATO official, the European NATO members will be investing a total of 380 billion dollars in defence this year. At the same time, Stoltenberg said that last year saw an unprecedented 11% rise in defence expenses in countries like Canada and the European members. NATO members agreed in 2006 to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defence, but only some of them, Romania included have reached this objective. However, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the NATO members, especially Germany, have reiterated the pledge.
