All articles tagged with #defense spending
Rob Jetten, 38, was sworn in as the Netherlands’ youngest prime minister, becoming the first openly gay leader, and now leads a three-party minority government aiming to boost defense spending toward 5% of GDP and cut livestock emissions, while navigating a fragile coalition and a CV misrepresentation controversy involving a state secretary from his own party.
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was reelected and formed a second cabinet, vowing to deepen U.S.-Japan economic security cooperation (including rare earths) while pursuing a more assertive security stance, backed by a two-thirds ruling majority. She plans military expansion, tougher immigration rules, and potential steps toward constitutional revision, even as she faces domestic pressures like inflation and debt alongside a planned visit to Washington to coordinate with Trump.
Germany’s foreign minister urged France to boost defence spending to advance European sovereignty and meet NATO targets, underscoring tensions in the Franco-German alliance as Berlin ramps up defence funding and Europe debates greater security autonomy, including the possibility of a European nuclear umbrella.
Germany’s defense chief Gen. Carsten Breuer and the UK’s Air Marshal Sir Richard Knighton publish a joint call for intensified European defense spending and a whole-of-society deterrence approach against a broader Russia, noting NATO’s 5% of GDP target by 2035 while Britain moves to deploy a carrier strike group and Germany repositions troops near its eastern border, even as public appetite for higher taxes remains mixed.
Two European defence leaders argue that post‑Cold War peace dividends must give way to a step change in investment and unity to deter Russia, citing Nato’s goal of 5% of GDP on defence by 2035, the need for a strong European defence industry, and initiatives like Britain–Germany cooperation and the EU Safe fund, while stressing that rearmament is a responsible act to protect people and peace and requires a whole‑of‑society approach.
At the Munich Security Conference, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reassured European leaders that Washington remains committed to the transatlantic alliance, but warned Europe must assume more responsibility for its own security and share the US’s values; the US could act alone if needed, though it would prefer to cooperate with Europe to revitalize the alliance amid concerns about the end of the US‑led international order and NATO leadership.
At the Munich Security Conference, the MSC report warns the international order is under pressure from “wrecking-ball politics,” with the United States driving shifts that erode long‑standing norms, Europe’s security feeling less assured, and trust in political systems waning. The bloc is urged to balance continued US engagement with greater autonomy, defense spending rises, and new security–trade partnerships form in response to Russia’s war and hybrid threats, though the outcome for global stability remains uncertain.
European allies and Canada pledge to boost defense to about 3.5% of GDP by 2035 (plus 1.5% for security-related projects) to deter adversaries, but NATO’s credibility and unity have been damaged by Donald Trump’s Greenland threats and disparaging remarks about allied troops, raising questions about U.S. commitment; Russia remains a persistent threat and potential U.S. troop withdrawals add to uncertainty about NATO’s future deterrence.
Six years after Brexit, Britain faces a strategic choice between deepening ties with the United States for security and economic benefits or rebuilding closer links with the European Union to share defense needs and preserve access to the single market; while some, like Lord David Frost, urge a stronger U.S. alliance, others warn that detaching from Europe could weaken defense and trade, and UK leadership signals a broader EU reset at the sectoral level to bolster ties with Europe and its defense role.
The Netherlands forms a new minority coalition led by Rob Jetten (D66) with CDA and VVD, outlining a consensus-driven agenda that includes a significant defense spending increase and NATO goals, housing and nitrogen reform, tighter migration policies, closer EU cooperation, and a reliance on cross-party support to pass legislation in a narrowly divided parliament.
EU defense chiefs argue Europe must build its own military power and even a European pillar within NATO amid a more dangerous world and a less reliable US, widening a rift with Mark Rutte over Europe’s security future. They urge faster European coordination, less veto risk, more defense spending, and a stronger European defense industry, while pursuing partnerships with like-minded partners to reduce reliance on the United States.
European Parliament lawmakers heard Mark Rutte warn that Europe cannot defend itself without the United States and urged against creating a separate European pillar of NATO, stressing continued U.S. ties even amid Trump-era tensions; he credited Trump with pushing NATO members to meet the 2% of GDP defense-spending target and urged flexibility in Kyiv’s €90 billion loan so Ukraine can buy weapons from the United States if needed.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Donald Trump’s presidency forced Europe to raise defense spending toward 2% of GDP, with a target of 5% by 2035, while Trump’s Greenland threats and the U.S. pivot to Asia loom over the alliance.
The European Commission proposed a €90 billion, two-year, interest-free loan to Ukraine to stave off financial collapse as it fights Russia, with about one-third for normal budgets and the rest for defense; it would be financed by EU joint debt, allow Ukraine to buy foreign weapons if needed with EU defense firms favored, and tie repayments to post-war reparations or frozen Russian assets, though several member states balk at participation; disbursements could start in April to unlock IMF support as U.S. aid wanes.
European defense spending is entering a multi-year mega-trend as geopolitical threats persist and doubts linger about U.S. security commitments to NATO; the EU and member states are boosting military investment with rising private capital, pushing defense stocks higher in early 2026 but still below U.S. peers, signaling longer-term investor interest.