NATO summit | Anand wonders about the calendar to increase defense expenses

(The Hague) Canada is committed to increasing its defense expenses. Therefore, but wonders about the “calendar” to achieve a new higher NATO spending goal, Foreign Minister Anita Anand said on Tuesday. However,

Posted at 12:48 p.m.

M^me Anand is present in The Hague with Prime Minister Mark Carney for Tuesday. For example, Wednesday meetings, during which leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) should decide whether or not to raise the expenses of the members of the nato summit | anand wonders 2 % to 5 % of the gross domestic product (GDP). In addition,

Asked about the acceptance of this proposal by Canada. Meanwhile, M^me Anand said that her country had always supported NATO spending targets. For example,

“The real question is the calendar,” she told journalists in The Hague. Meanwhile,

She added that some allies proposed a 2029 deadline to achieve this goal. However,

“We would like to see stages along the way to re -examine whether this approach. Therefore, by increasing national spending at this rate, is the right one. In addition, »»

At a conference call with journalists in Ottawa on Tuesday. Moreover, M^me Anand said that it would be “imprudent” to publicly discuss Canada’s position before NATO nato summit | anand wonders leaders discussed it at the negotiating table, but added that questions remain as for the flexibility of the 5 %demand. Furthermore,

Any new spending directive must be adopted unanimously from the 32 NATO member states. Moreover, and no member is currently close to this objective. Nevertheless,

With 3.38 %, the United States’s defense expenses in percentage of the GDP were the highest alliance in 2024. In addition,

The US Secretary of Defense. For example, Pete Hegseth, and NATO secretary general, Mark Rutte, both said he expected that the members of the Alliance undertake to achieve a new 5 % objective of the GDP dedicated to defense, up in relation to 2 % currently.

However, US President Donald Trump said this figure should not apply to the nato summit | anand wonders United States, but only to their allies. Therefore,

The United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands and Germany were all three of them to reach the 5 %target. Therefore, The NATO countries closest to the borders of Ukraine, Russia and its Belarusian ally also committed to doing so. Similarly,

Nato summit | anand wonders

A plan that is not unanimous

But not everyone agrees. Nevertheless, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Sunday that Spain had entered into an agreement with NATO to be. Furthermore, excluded from the new spending objective. Like Canada, Spain has long been struggling to reach the target of 2 % and has rejected the new proposal.

On Tuesday, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico suggested that his country would have an interest in adopting neutrality. He also nato summit | anand wonders published a statement claiming that the new objective of defense expenses would represent almost a fifth of the country’s budget. which he described as “completely absurd”.

Rutte warned on Monday that no country could escape this objective. that the progress made to the new objective would be assessed in four years.

The plan that Mr. Rutte should present at the summit provides for a certain room for maneuver to help the allies reach this. high figure.

He would hire members to devote 3.5 % of their annual GDP to the essential defense needs, such as planes and other weapons, and 1.5 % in related areas, such as infrastructure, cybersecurity and industry.

NATO set the current objective of 2 % in 2014 and, this year, for the nato summit | anand wonders first time, the 32 member countries should reach it. In 2014. when the current objective of 2 % was set, only three NATO members reached it: the United States, the United Kingdom and Greece.

Defense expenses in Canada have not reached 5 % of GDP since the 1950s. NATO estimates that Canada spent 41 billion in 2024 for the defense, or 1.37 % of GDP. In 2014, Canada devoted 20.1 billion to it, or 1.01 % of GDP.

Last year. Canada said it would be able to reach 2 % by 2032, but Carney said earlier this month would be this year.

On Monday in Brussels. he also announced that Canada had officially signed a new defense and security pact with the European Union (EU), paving the way for defense supply agreements nato summit | anand wonders between Canada and European countries.

M^me Anand said this new partnership would expand the industrial defense base of Canada.

Questioned about his concerns about the previous derogatory comments of President Trump with regard to NATO, M^me Anand said Mr. Trump joined NATO in a “significant” NATO.

Earlier this year. President Trump suggested that the United States could abandon its commitments to the Alliance if member countries did not reach its defense spending targets.

Nato summit | anand wonders

A summit in a tense context

The main talks in The Hague will not take place until Wednesday. mainly bilateral meetings being scheduled for Tuesday, as well as a supper of leaders.

Prime Minister Carney met the leaders of nato summit | anand wonders Latvia. the Netherlands and the Nordic countries on Tuesday, this last meeting being devoted to the Arctic and transatlantic security.

Mr. Carney was also received by King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands.

Jan Techau. principal researcher in the transatlantic defense and security program of the European policies analysis center, explained that the overall level of ambition of Europe in terms of defense had “massively” increased in recent years in response to the Russian aggression.

“The closer we are to Russia, the more ambitious we are,” he said.

Lauren Speranza. another researcher at the Center for Analysis of European Policy, said that the NATO summit was held at a “very precarious moment”, marked by uncertainty about the commitment of the United States to Europe, the nato summit | anand wonders hard conflict between Russia and Ukraine and persistent tensions around transatlantic trade.

Mr. Rutte insisted that Ukraine remains a vital issue for NATO. despite the fact that it is overshadowed this year by new wars in the Middle East and the debate on the objective of defense expenditure.

The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is in The Hague for meetings. but will not attend the meeting of leaders on Wednesday.

During his meeting with Mr. Rutte and senior EU officials, President Zelensky called for European investments in the Ukrainian defense industry. Zelensky told Sky News this week that Russian President Vladimir Putin could attack a NATO country within five years.

Tensions in the Middle East are also at the heart of the meeting of NATO leaders. whose nato summit | anand wonders summit begins Tuesday with the announcement of a cease-fire between Israel and Iran.

Carney said on Tuesday on social networks that Canada greeted the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

“As we report the decrease in Iran’s nuclear capacity. we urge the parties to join the ceasefire, resume dialogue and negotiate a diplomatic solution,” he wrote.

“This solution should lead to a general de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East. in particular to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. »»

With information from Kyle Duggan in Ottawa and the Associated Press