NATO chief announces 8.3% hike in defence spending, ahead of major Vilnius summit

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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda held a joint press conference on Monday, 10 July, the day before the start of the NATO meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, with 48 delegations of some 2,400 people, including 40 heads of state and 150 leading officials, due to attend.

Stoltenberg said: “This week at the NATO Summit, we will strengthen our deterrence and defence, including with more investment. We will step up our support for Ukraine, and move Ukraine closer to NATO, and we will work even more closely with partners to support the rules-based international order.”

“At the summit, we will take further major steps to strengthen our deterrence and defence, including three new regional plans, backed by 300,000 troops on high readiness and major capabilities across all domains. This sends a clear message that we will defend every inch of Lithuania – and every inch of Allied territory,” Stoltenberg said, adding that “we will also take decisions on Ukraine.”

According to the NATO chief: “Allies will set a more ambitious defence investment pledge, building on nine consecutive years of increased defence spending across European allies and Canada. This includes a rise of 8.3% in real terms this year – the biggest increase in defence spending in decades.

“This includes a multi-year package of assistance, to transition from Soviet-era to NATO equipment and standards, making Ukraine’s forces fully interoperable with Allies. And covering critical needs like demining equipment, fuel, and medical supplies. We will also upgrade our political ties,” Stoltenberg added.

Lithuanian head of state promises security, welcomes Biden

For his part, Nauseda wrote on Facebook: “On the eve of the NATO summit in Vilnius I spoke with Alliance General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg.

“We want and strive for the meeting to be marked not by declarations, but by necessary solutions for the whole Alliance. The security situation in Europe and in our neighbourhood leaves no room to stumble in place. We have to step forward.

“The fact that we meet on the aggressor’s side sends a strong message: we are united and we will defend every inch of the Alliance. Unity and determination must also be reflected in the decisions that we will make here in Vilnius in the coming days.

“Thanks to the allies, during the NATO convention Vilnius will be one of the safest places in Europe: both in the air, at sea and on land. This is how safe we want to feel always. This is what we will strive for, because we are the front line of NATO.

“One of the most important topics: Ukraine. We all understand that only her victory will bring security and stability back to Europe. It is necessary to agree on further military support of Ukraine until the complete takeover of the territories.

“We also understand that Ukraine has to fully integrate into transatlantic security structures and become a NATO member. The time for repeating promises is over – it’s time to agree on a clear plan on how we will achieve it.

“We have no other way but to agree and send a strong signal to Ukraine. The perspective of membership is extremely important for the country, which has been heroically fighting the Russian monster for almost one and a half years. Vilnius must be the place from which good news will reach the Ukrainian nation,” Nauseda underlined.

After meeting US President Joe Biden who arrived in Lithuania at Vilnius Airport later on Monday, Nauseda wrote that “This is a historic event that testifies to the strong bilateral relations and strategic partnership between our countries: we are all stronger and safer with the USA.”