The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in a speech before the members of the European Parliament, called on the countries of the European Union to raise their defense spending to a level comparable to that of Russia.
EU countries collectively spend 1.9 percent of their GDP on defense, and Russia, he said, spends up to 9 percent. AFP quotes von der Leyen as saying that "something is wrong" here.
The number he mentioned is closer to the total expenses of the Russian budget for defense and security. They are estimated at 8% of Russia's GDP or about 40% of all its budget expenditures. Russia's net defense spending has been increasing throughout the years of the full-scale war in Ukraine and will account for 6.3% of GDP in the 2025 budget.
NATO countries have set themselves the goal of increasing their defense spending to 2% of GDP, with 23 of the alliance's 32 members meeting that goal this year. The EU includes several neutral countries that are not part of NATO and do not have large armies: Ireland, Austria, Malta, and Cyprus.
"We have to be as ambitious as the threats are," von der Leyen emphasized.
