EU Foreign Affairs Chief: "To Prevent War, Defense Spending Must Increase"
Kaja Kallas, the European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, agreed with U.S. President Donald Trump's criticism of Europe's defense spending and argued that the expenditure should be increased.
In an interview on the BBC Weekend program on the 1st (local time), High Representative Kallas stated that the average defense spending in Europe is only 1.9% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and that President Trump's criticism of Europe's insufficient defense spending is justified.
President Trump pointed out that NATO European member countries should increase their defense spending target from the current 2% of GDP to 5%.
High Representative Kallas said, "Russia spends 9% of its GDP on defense," and added, "To prevent war, we need to spend more money on defense."
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Previously, when she was Prime Minister of Estonia, High Representative Kallas also stated that NATO member countries should increase their defense spending to up to 3% of GDP. Estonia has a history of being annexed by the Soviet Union and currently shares a border with Russia.
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