The British Prime Minister Keir Starrer said on Tuesday that he would increase the annual defense spending to 2.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2027 and aimed at a signal of a signal by US President Donald Trump for decades ago, the Great Britain Can help increase the security of Europe.
On the eve of his departure to meet Trump in Washington, Parliament said that he would promote the increase in defense spending to offer Europe more support than the US peace talks with Russia because of his war in Ukraine Spears.
Since Trump has apparently given up the United States’ Ukrainian -friendly approach to the Russia’s war, the blind denties of many Europe, strands and other European leaders have made diplomatic efforts to support Kyiv.
“From today I can tell you that this government will begin the greatest continued increase in defense spending since the end of the Cold War,” said Starrer, adding 2.6 percent of the secret services from 2027.
“We have to go further. I have long argued that … all European allies have to do more for our own defense” Parliament that was convened after a national election in 2029.
The increase in the Defense in Great Britain would spend more than £ 13.4 billion ($ 24.2 billion) for defense every year. The British Ministry of Defense spent £ 53.9 billion (97.4 billion US dollars) in the 2023/24 financial year.
Starrer’s statement was a clear opening of the opening of Trump in Washington later this week, and signaled that Great Britain will try to conduct other European countries to offer the NATO alliance led by the United States more support Request that Trump has repeatedly made, which indicates that the federal states should spend five percent of GDP.
Starrer goes to Washington and hopes to assure Trump that Europe will offer Kyiv support and security guarantees if peace talks with Russia are successful.
The British leader has declared that he was open to British troops that offer security guarantees to Ukraine, but only among other European countries.
Looking for a US -Backstop ‘
Starrer also wants a form of us “backstop” for every security guarantee from Europe, which, as he says, will “be of crucial importance in order to prevent Russia from starting a further invasion in a few years.”
“The United States is our most important bilateral alliance,” he said. “So this week, when I meet President Trump, I will be clear. I want this relationship to be strengthened from strength.”
The US defense minister Pete Hegseth called it a “strong step of a permanent partner” in a social media contribution. Hegseth said he spoke to British Defense Minister John Healey.
Starer will be the second European leader who meets Trump in Washington because the President has astonished allies with his new approach to the three -year Ukraine decline.
French President Emmanuel Macron met with a strong focus on Ukraine on Monday with the US President Donald Trump. Once Macron threw in to deny Trump’s frame about how European financing flows into Ukraine, and said: “We have provided real money to be clear.”
The French President Emmanuel Macron held a well -harassed meeting with Trump on Monday when the two agreed on the commitment of the European Peace Security forces, although the French leader did not get a permanent nod that the United States would play a role.
But Macron underlined the difference in the approach between the USA and Europe and also corrected Trump’s claim that the European countries had delivered all of their aids for Ukraine as loans and said that the countries had given “real money, clear”.
General Secretary of NATO, Mark Rutte, has also asked the Member States to pass the defense spending beyond their common goal of two percent of the national production defined before a decade. The next goal will be “considerably more than three percent, said Rutte, the former Dutch Prime Minister.
Fredrich Merz, the likely next Chancellor, has also undertaken to significantly increase defense spending if he can found a government coalition after the election on Sunday, but he has to navigate the possibility of far and left parties that block his plans.
With a defense budget by JSillly, more than $ 33 billion in 2024-25 and for expenses for the Canadian coast guard and veteran affairs, Canada is reached around 1.37 percent of GDP. Only a handful of countries have a lower percentage in alliance, Spain and Belgium.
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Auxiliary group condemns the decision
In view of the public expenditure already extended in Great Britain, Starrer said that the increase would be fully paid by a 40 percent reduction in international aid, an announcement that he is not happy to do, but one that was necessary to Ukraine and Europe to offer “new era.” Starrer also said that the British government would continue to be obliged to help hotspots such as Gaza and Sudan, and at the same time keep the global challenges in terms of climate change and infectious diseases.
The international auxiliary budget is reduced from 0.5 percent of the gross national income to 0.3 percent in 2027, which means that the credit level would not change, said Starrer.
“This is a short -sighted and horrific step of both the Prime Ministry and the Ministry of Finance,” said Romilly Greenhill, Chief Executive Officer from Bond, a network for organizations that work in international development and humanitarian support.
Great Britain recently reduced its auxiliary budget in November 2020 during the economic crisis due to Covid-19, which previously reduced the level of 0.7 percent of the gross national income.
