Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Thursday backed President-elect Donald Trump's calls for increased defense spending for NATO countries, saying that the security of Europe "is on a knife-edge."
Why It Matters
Trump has repeatedly urged NATO members to contribute more toward defense, contending that the United States has footed the bill for European security for far too long, even threatening to withdraw the U.S. from the alliance over this dispute.
Other calls for members to increase defense spending have gradually grown since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
NATO's current target for members' defense spending is 2 percent of their country's GDP. Trump has repeatedly called on the alliance to increase this amount.
What To Know
Trump has consistently expressed doubt about NATO, the military alliance that has been a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy for decades, questioning its value and threatening to withhold defense from member nations that do not meet established defense-spending targets.
This week, Trump called for NATO countries to significantly increase their defense spending, proposing a new target of at least 5 percent of their GDP. Trump also suggested he would not rule out military action to assert control over Greenland, the autonomous territory of Denmark, a NATO member.
The United Kingdom currently allocates 2.3 percent of its GDP to defense spending and has announced plans to raise that figure to 2.5 percent in the near future.
Lammy Addresses Trump's Greenland Comments
Lammy noted that while Donald Trump's hallmark has been his unpredictability and fiery rhetoric, it is essential to focus on his actions during his presidency rather than be solely swayed by his words.
The British official dismissed the likelihood of Trump taking control of Greenland and pointed out that concerns over NATO's future had already surfaced during Trump's first term in office.
What People Are Saying
Lammy during a Thursday speech: "Donald Trump and JD Vance are simply right when they say that Europe needs to do more to defend its own continent. It's myopia to pretend otherwise with Russia on the march."
Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary-General, said during a conference in December: "[Trump] wants to make sure that the U.S. is not overspending and we are not doing enough, and he's totally right. I mean, I remember when he became president in 2016, 2017, that he continued to push us, and since he became president we spent 641 billion more than before he came up...Of course the full onslaught—the full scale onslaught of Russia on Ukraine has also ramped up defense spending, but he was very successful in ramping it up."
What's Next
Talk of NATO increasing its defense spending target will likely continue in the coming weeks.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
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