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French President Emmanuel Macron believes that European states need to boost their defense spending to 3.5% of GDP.
According to French media, Macron made this statement in an interview with Le Figaro following the European leaders’ summit in London on supporting Ukraine.
Emmanuel Macron said that European countries should increase defense spending to 3-3.5% of GDP in light of the shift in U.S. policy regarding its role in protecting European allies.
“For three years now, Russia has been spending 10% of its GDP on defense. So we must prepare for what comes next,” said the French president, setting a target of 3-3.5% of GDP for European nations.
Last week, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced ahead of his visit to Washington that the UK would accelerate its plans to increase defense spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027—the largest defense spending increase since the Cold War.
He also expressed support for further increasing defense spending to 3% of GDP.
Recently, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he plans to ask NATO members to raise their defense spending target from the current 2% to 5% of GDP.
Read also: Macron Reminds That It’s the Kremlin Leader, Not Zelenskyy, ‘Playing with World War III’
