Anthony J. Constantini
If you have paid attention to European defence issues and NATO conversations these past few weeks, you’d have thought that something got into the water in the various capitals which comprise the alliance. Newly-inaugurated President Donald Trump is calling for NATO members to spend at least five per cent of GDP on defence – and unlike in his first term, he has received positive responses from across the Atlantic. Estonia and Lithuania have already agreed, and others have sounded positive notes.
Not everyone has, of course. Portugal excitedly announced it would finally meet the two per cent benchmark – in 2029, the year Trump is scheduled to leave office. Friedrich Merz, the almost-certain next German chancellor, swore off paying attention to numbers entirely: “And the two, three or five per cent are basically irrelevant; what matters is that we do what is necessary to defend ourselves.” Germany is in a particular bind; the country will barely spend two per cent of GDP on defence this year, and it will only be due to a fund set up by current Chancellor Olaf Scholz which is going to expire in 2027.
Merz, perhaps inadvertently, has actually hit the nail on the head: percentage is irrelevant. But this is not a good thing for Europe. In fact, it has been paying attention to per cents which has taken them into such a problem.
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