Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys has urged NATO allies to at least double their defense spending commitments ahead of this summer’s summit, calling for a shift from the current 2% of GDP target to 4%.
Speaking at the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels, Budrys said, “for the Hague summit, we have to at least double our baseline defense spending.”
“Increasing defense and spending more on defense means that we need to invest more. That means our current level of defense spending is too low to achieve the results where we have to be,” he stated, emphasizing the urgency of strengthening NATO’s capabilities.
Lithuania has significantly ramped up its defense budget over the past decade. Budrys was proud of their progress, saying: “On our side, the Lithuanian side, we do a lot. In the last ten years, we’ve increased our spending ten times, so you can add another zero to the amount we are spending,”
The country’s State Defense Council has already set an ambitious goal of raising defense expenditures to 5-6% of GDP by 2030, initially through borrowing and later by introducing new taxes and economic growth measures. Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas recently confirmed plans to allocate 5.25% of GDP for defense next year.
Budrys’ call for increased spending comes amid growing discussions on NATO’s financial commitments. Former U.S. President Donald Trump has previously criticized European allies for not meeting the 2% target and recently suggested NATO members should match U.S. defense spending, potentially at 5% of GDP.
