{"id":29902,"date":"2019-12-02T20:53:43","date_gmt":"2019-12-02T20:53:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/12\/02\/defense-budgets-set-to-dominate-yet-another-nato-summit\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T12:27:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T12:27:50","slug":"defense-budgets-set-to-dominate-yet-another-nato-summit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/budget\/2019\/12\/02\/defense-budgets-set-to-dominate-yet-another-nato-summit\/","title":{"rendered":"Defense budgets set to dominate yet another NATO summit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BRUSSELS \u2014 Despite pleas to set aside bickering over military spending so the issue doesn\u2019t dominate a third NATO summit in a row, the United States is almost certain to demand again this week that its 28 NATO partners respect their pledges to boost defense budgets<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NATO countries slashed spending as tensions eased after the Cold War. But Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula was a wake-up call. The allies agreed then to halt cuts, boost budgets and move toward spending 2% of gross domestic product on defense by 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2% figure is perhaps too simplistic in that its value fluctuates depending on how economies perform. Moreover, countries calculate their defense budgets differently; some want veterans pensions included, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Correct spending levels don’t guarantee that adequate forces can be deployed into battle in a timely way and sustained by efficient supply lines. Nor do they have a relationship to any real security threat assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Importantly, this is about national military budgets, not NATO funding. No one owes the United States money, even though Washington spends more on defense than all the other allies combined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"NATO
A NATO AWACS division patch is seen inside a Boeing E-3A Airborne Warning & Control System (AWACS) aircraft on Nov. 27, 2019, in Melsbroek Air Base. (Aris Oikonomou\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That said, European allies and Canada rely heavily on U.S. equipment like large military transport planes and air-to-air refueling, and NATO’s deterrent effect is more credible backed by the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nine countries are projected to meet the 2% benchmark this year \u2014 the U.S. with about 3.4%, Greece, Britain, Bulgaria, Estonia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania \u2014 up from three nations in 2014. Germany will spend 1.35%, ranking it 17th, but it aims to hit 1.5% by the deadline. Spain, Belgium and Luxembourg spend less than 1%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While budgets have risen since 2014, NATO headquarters chooses to use 2016 \u2014 the year Donald Trump was elected U.S. president \u2014 as its reference point for spending increases. Officials concede privately that this is to mollify Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\t