NATO leaders – including Canada – approved the plan of a radical increase in defense expenditure in the Western Alliance to five percent of the gross domestic product over the next decade, a decision that gave US President Donald Trump a significant victory for politics.
On Wednesday, they gathered behind closed doors in the Netherlands, where the final details and potential complaints were thrown out.
However, members of the alliance expected something in return-to-gray Trump's involvement in the NATO self-defense clause, art. 5.
Older Canadian officials, speaking against the background after the meeting, said that the Allies seemed freely with the recovers of the US President, despite his public equation about whether Washington would come to defend their allies in crisis.
On the way to the top of Trump, he was asked if he supported art. 5, and replied that the self -defense clause has many definitions. In fact, the language is quite clear – saying that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all NATO allies.
The Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, opened the shortened peak, praising Trump for managing an increased defense expenditure.
“For too long, one ally, the United States, wore too much burden of this commitment – and changes today,” said Rutte. “President Trump, Dear Donald, you have enabled this change. Your leadership has already produced one trillion of additional expenses from European allies since 2016. Today's decisions will bring more trillions for our joint defense.”
The transfer to five percent of the gross domestic product, 3.5 percent to basic military expenses and 1.5 for defense infrastructure will take place in the next 10 years.
This is a compromise for allies – including Canada – who consider such a large increase in difficulties.
Prime Minister Mark Carney revealed on Monday during an interview with CNN that meeting a new goal of defense expenditure in the amount of five percent of GDP would cost a federal state treasury $ 150 billion a year.
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