Norway ready to increase defense needs, says prime minister By Reuters

By John Irish

MUNICH (Reuters) – Norway is “ready to take a stand and be counted” on defense spending ahead of the NATO summit in Washington in July. The Nordic country’s prime minister told Reuters on Saturday, adding that Oslo is preparing a new long-term defense plan.

Last year the country set for the first time a goal to increase defense spending to at least 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2026, in line with a long-standing goal among NATO members .

Former US President Donald Trump shocked Europeans earlier this month by saying he would encourage Russia “to do whatever the hell it wants” against NATO allies who haven’t spent enough.

The 31 allies have committed to spending 2% of their production on defense, but not all have done so individually.

Asked whether Norway could bring forward that deadline, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere appears to have opened the door to speeding up that process, saying the government will present a new long-term defense plan in the coming months based on a broad commission of experts and all political parties.

“The key to achieving this is a significant strengthening of investment in our defense capability. This will be clear before Washington, but exactly where this will end up in 2024, I cannot reveal now,” he said, referring to the alliance summit held on July 9th. -11.

“I think we are ready to stand up and be counted.”

Norwegian defense spending as a percentage of overall economic activity declined after the end of the Cold War, but the war in Ukraine demonstrated the need for a stronger military.

Norway borders Russia in the Arctic. It has never been at war with its eastern neighbor.

“We as Norway do not see that there is a direct military threat directed against us, but having a neighbor who has fully attacked another neighbor, having developed in an authoritarian militarized direction, makes us aware of the threat,” Stoere said. .

“That’s why we need to strengthen our defense.”