Two European powers pushed for an acceleration in military spending, as US isolationism and Russian aggression piled pressure on the continent.
NATO members pledged last June to dedicate 5% of GDP to defense-related spending but Germany, which greenlit a huge debt-fuelled expansion of its military outlay, said France was lagging behind on its commitments.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, meanwhile, said the UK also had to “go faster” to meet its own, separate, target of 3% of GDP on defense. Both Britain and France are hampered by their economic woes: France, already heavily indebted, is in the midst of bitter rows over public spending, and the UK’s GDP has been stagnant for years.
