Norway plans to raise overall spending on defense and broader security to 5 percent of GDP, its prime minister said yesterday, in line with a planned common goal among NATO states.
Europe is scrambling to boost defenses against a potential Russian attack after the administration of US President Donald Trump made clear that the US was no longer willing to be the main guarantor of Europe’s security.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has proposed that member nations should each agree to aim to spend 5 percent of their GDP on defense and broader security measures when they meet on Tuesday and Wednesday in The Hague, Netherlands.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“We must do more to secure our country and contribute to our common security with our allies in NATO,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store told a news conference yesterday.
“Security for Norway is about having a defense that is reliable, that has the right equipment, enough people and good plans,” he said.
Norway, which shares a border with Russia, plans to spend 3.5 percent of GDP on traditional defense, including its financial support to Ukraine’s military, and a further 1.5 percent on broader security, in line with Rutte’s proposal, he said.
Norway last year spent an estimated 2.2 percent of GDP on defense, up from a low of 1.4 percent in 2022, the Norwegian national statistics agency said in April.
The Norwegian government last month said it aims to spend 3.3 percent this year.
The Nordic country would probably reach the 5 percent spending target sometime in the years following 2030, depending on decisions made at next week’s NATO summit, the prime minister said.
Asked about Spain’s request to opt out of NATO’s 5 percent plan, Stoere said he assumed that work would be done to reach a consensus at next week’s summit.
Norway is the only country in Europe that can finance increased military spending without having to borrow more, as it has a nearly US$2 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, at its disposal.
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