Much of the EU is struggling to get defense spending up to 2 percent of GDP. 5 percent of GDP has zero chance. Let’s discuss the math.
2024 Defense Spending
- Poland: 4.12
- Estonia: 3.43
- US: 3.38
- UK: 2.33
- Germany 2.12
- France 2.06
- Portugal: 1.55
- Italy: 1.49
- Canada: 1.37
- Spain: 1.28
Trump Rattles NATO Allies
DW reports Trump Rattles NATO Allies with Defense Spending Demands
US President-elect Donald Trump’s demand that NATO allies spend 5% of their annual gross domestic product (GDP) on defense shook up European capitals a fortnight before he returns to the White House.
“I think NATO should have 5%,” Trump said at a press conference on Tuesday. “They can all afford it.”
That is a whopping increase from the 2% pledge that NATO allies agreed on but which has proven difficult for several European nations. It’s also even higher than the 4% he called during his last term as president.
Demand 5% but Accept 3.5%?
An optimistic reading of Trump’s demand is that it is a negotiating tactic and that NATO, being an alliance of equals, will arrive at an amicable agreement, according to Rafael Loss, a policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) who focuses on security and defense in the Euro-Atlantic area.
“I think increasing the defense spending to 3.5% may be seen as more realistic by Europeans,” he told DW from Berlin. “But the pessimistic scenario is that he is serious about pulling America out of NATO and encouraging Putin to do what he wants.”
In December, NATO chief Mark Rutte reminded the European public of Russia’s defense investment of “7% to 8% of GDP” this year and said Europe needed to shift to “a wartime mindset” and“turbocharge” the continent’s defense production.
He appealed for countries to forgo part of their social welfare budgets and spend more on defense.
Italy
Despite the ideological kinship between Trump and [Italian Prime Minister] Meloni, Italy will also be expected to increase its expenditure, according to Leo Goretti, head of the Italian foreign policy program at the Istituto Affari Internazionali, an Italian think tank.
“At best Meloni may extract some concessions — such as a delayed timeline for Italy to increase its defense spending,” he told DW from Rome, adding that Trump’s demand placed Meloni in a difficult position on the domestic front.
“Italy does want to spend more on defense, but the problem is that there is very limited fiscal space,” Goretti said. “The cost of welfare, especially health care and pension systems, doesn’t offer much leeway.“
Germany: Let defense needs, not GDP, determine spending
Germany, which faces snap elections next month, partly owing to economic and budget policy, spent 2.12% on defense. Any increase is certain to be a controversial proposition.
During his first term, Trump specifically called on Germany to increase defense expenditures. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the alliance had a “regulated procedure” to determine the military capabilities it needs, adding, “It is important that we stand together and act in unity on these questions.”
Scholz’s main challenger in upcoming German elections, opposition leader Friedrich Merz, called spending targets as a percent of GDP outdated.
“The 2%, 3% or 5% are basically irrelevant: What is crucial is that we do what is necessary to defend ourselves,” Merz told German public broadcaster Bayern 2 on Wednesday.
Higher defense expenditure to buy European or American?
If Trump pushed them to go as high as 5%, they might decide to spend most of the cash on building the European defense industry rather than buying American. However, analysts said, a deal could be struck: Spend less than 5% of GDP but spend a bigger share on US manufacturers.
“We Are Not at a Bazaar”
Translated from German, Tagesschau reports “We Are Not at a Bazaar“
Five percent of GDP for defense? This Trump demand is clearly rejected across party lines. We are not at a bazaar, said MEP Strack-Zimmermann. Nevertheless, the discussion about the defense budget continues. Even before he officially takes office, Donald Trump is causing astonishment and head-shaking. His demand that NATO countries spend five percent of their gross domestic product on the defense sector in the future is met with cross-party resistance in Germany. The chairman of the Defense Committee, Marcus Faber (FDP), sees five percent as too high. In an interview with the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND), he also said: “The 32 NATO states will have to agree on a new common minimum beyond the two percent target.” However, he expects three percent to be more likely – and this must be decided by consensus, Faber stressed.
Need for Action
His predecessor in the Defense Committee, MEP [Member of European Parliament] Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, also believes Trump’s demand for a five percent target is excessive. “We shouldn’t let every statement from Trump confuse us. We’re not at a bazaar here,” the FDP politician told the RND.
Merz: Mission more important than percentage
CDU leader Friedrich Merz considers the defense budget’s share of gross domestic product to be primarily a calculation figure. The expansion of the Bundeswehr and the restoration of national and alliance defense are important, he said in an interview with Bayerischer Rundfunk . “And the two, three or five percent are basically irrelevant; what matters is that we do what is necessary to defend ourselves. “The aim is to actually reach the two percent lower limit in Germany. This is currently only possible through the 100 billion euro special fund. This was announced by Chancellor Olaf Scholz shortly after the Russian attack on Ukraine and is expected to be used up by 2027.
Wagenknecht relies on Paris instead of Washington
SPD foreign policy expert Ralf Stegner, however, clearly rejected Trump’s demand. “We don’t need more weapons in the world, but fewer,” he told the news portal Politico. Stegner’s party colleague and Bundestag parliamentary group vice-chair Dirk Wiese expressed himself in a similar way. He spoke of “complete madness” on ntv. BSW head Sahra Wagenknecht called for a change in foreign policy in relations with the USA. “It is no surprise that Trump is now demanding five percent of military spending,” she also told Politico. It is now time to end the “vassal loyalty to the USA”. Germany needs “independence instead of subservience” and “a significant improvement in German-French relations”.The Left Party is also resisting Trump’s move and wants to freeze defense spending at the current level. “In 2024, the defense budget was 52 billion – together with the European partner states, this is perfectly sufficient for national defense,” party leader Jan van Aken told the dpa news agency. It is a completely nonsensical yardstick to measure the budget based on gross domestic product.
During Trump’s first term in office, NATO countries’ defense spending was already a central point of contention. At the time, the Republican threatened to withdraw the United States from the military alliance if the partner countries did not fulfill their commitment to invest at least two percent of GDP in defense.
Three Percent Won’t Happen
At 3 percent, Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Canada would have to double or nearly double defense spending.
France and Germany would both need to increase spending by 50 percent.
However, Germany and France are both in a state of simultaneous fiscal crises and political crisis.
Neither France nor Germany has a working government. And France is under EU treaty rules to shrink its budget.
Canada does not have a working government either.
3 percent won’t happen because there is no political will in any of the the 5 largest EU countries.
German Polls
There is no faction in Germany that wants increased defense spending.
Union (CDU/CSU) party leader Friedrich Merz, called spending targets as a percent of GDP outdated. He will be the next chancellor.
The current chancellor, Olaf Scholz, from SPD, wants to reduce military spending.
The positions of AfD and BSW are likely the same. “It is now time to end the vassal loyalty to the USA,” said BSW head Sahra Wagenknecht.
It takes 5 percent to make German parliament. BSW, Linke, and FDP are on the bubble. I suspect BSW will pick up Linke voters and FDP won’t make it.
Regardless, no coalition makes any sense. And that’s in general, not just military spending.
US 2025 Fiscal Budget
The US defense budget for fiscal year 2025 is currently $884 billion.
If $884 billion is 3.38 percent of GDP and Trump wants 5.0 percent, we can do some math to calculate the shortfall.
X / 5 = $884 Billion / 3.38
X = $1,308 billion.
So, Trump is proposing a $424 billion annual increase in defense spending.
Five percent of GDP would add over $42 trillion in spending over 10 years!
The US Treasury bond market is already reeling. And nearly everything Trump proposes adds to the deficit.
Spotlight France and Germany
March 27, 2024: Expect a Financial Crisis in Europe With France at the Epicenter
The EU never enforced its Growth and Stability Pact or Maastricht Treaty rules. The crisis is coming to a head with France and Italy in the spotlight.
That prediction didn’t take long to materialize.
June 21, 2024: Debt Brakes and Treaty Requirements About to Smash the EU
The EU has launched an Excessive Debt Proceeding against France. It won’t stop there.
July 7, 2024: France is Now Ungovernable Following a Pyrrhic Victory for the Left-Green Alliance
July 18, 2024: Germany’s Defense Spending Will Start an Immediate Clash With Trump
Germany’s defense minister asked for an increase of $7.3 billion. He was given only $1.2 billion. German aid to Ukraine is cut in half
November 10, 2024: Now Germany Has a Green Electricity Outage With Huge Consequences
No sun. No wind. Hello Germany, care to rethink your Green New Deal?
December 17, 2024: So, What Country Wants to Be Like Germany Now?
The collapse of Germany shocks many. But I have been discussing why this was inevitable for over a decade.
Mandatory Debt Brakes
Mandatory debt brakes in the EU suggest it will be difficult for defense spending to hit even 2 percent of GDP, let alone 5 percent.
Meanwhile, back in the states …
Bonds Hammered
Yesterday, I asked Bonds Hammered: Is it Fed Policy, Trump Policy, or Both?
Since the Fed’s first rate cut on September 17, yields on the long end have soared. So have mortgage rates.
Trump wants to add additional items to the TCJA renewal and expand military spending too.
The bond market thinks as much of Trump’s plan as I do, and that’s why yields are rising.
See above link for details.
If Trump’s real goal is to collapse the EU, or take the US out of NATO, he may succeed. But he sure isn’t going to get 5 percent or even 3 percent of GDP on military spending from the EU.
If Western Europe doesn’t care about their own defense or borders, neither should anyone else.
End NATO now. Close overseas bases now. Cut defense spending 90% now. Rebuild supply chains and manufacturing now.
Wouldn’t an additional $424B over 10 years be 4.24T (and not 42T)?
Europe needs an accommodation with Russia. Lose the hysterical Russiaphobia.
Jaw jaw is much cheaper than war war. Where is Trump the dealmaker? Surely he can make a great deal with Putin and end the competition. Somehow, a huge increase in defense spending doesn’t match dealmaking. I smell a rat.
Maybe one could scan (or DOGE) every government organization for unnecessary, unproductive or even counter productive elements and migrate them to the defence department. Doing so, the risk of war would decline and potential conflicts would become less harmful. In addition, it would boost, both defence spending and government efficiency, without causing recession, creating larger budget deficits or demanding higher taxes 😉
Biologically, animals could grow larger and larger horns to fight for mates (resources), until they tip over. Or, they just annihilate each other and end heir species. But they got to feel like tough guys!
There has to be SOME threshold that makes sense for all players. That has been forgotten in the era of cartoon leadership, a bunch of guys suspended mentally at age 14.
Europe is not independent but a vassal state.
Now desperate and doesn’t know what to do.
Its like a dog abandoned by the master in the desert.
They DID get used to a lot of free-riding, on our tab. Canada too must think, on a changing planet, of that, and the potential resource contests to come. They can’t just hang out in the remote snows anymore.
Nato countries would spend more on defense if they would be buying weapons internally rather than relying on the inflated USA-made weapons.
How about that “European Army” and “stickin’ it to Putin”? The EU countries are broke, writing cheques they can’t cash. The logical conclusion is that they will make peace with Russia, and take cheaper Russian energy – that’s their only play against the US. The EU countries can’t even control their own border, let alone run an empire.
F Nato
Mish,
I don’t think that even spending 10% of GDP on the military in most European countries for a decade would make much difference or make up for the years of undespending over the past 30 years.
Furthermore, I don’t know why we still need NATO anymore either.
It’s an worthy point to explore… let’s imagine Russia does something to trigger NATO into action, such as an incursion into Poland or another Baltic state… then war is declared… what happens? mass mobilisation of European militaries… how do they stack up against Russia and its allies? What happens? a general reluctance to go for nukes in the first instance, and a long messy expansion of the Ukraine front all across Eastern Europe – Napoleon style… magnify those deaths into the millions, and anti-war protests erupt across Europe, because no-one has the stomach for war.
What exactly is the point? You don’t get conquest or surrender, you get a forever war meatgrinder or mutually assured destruction… do you need NATO for either of those?
Obviously, everybody has to take Trump politically seriously because he will be in the White House. But why anybody takes Trump intellectually seriously is a puzzle. His utterances just make no sense.
Do Biden’s?
Do Kamala’s?
When was the last time a US President or candidate made any sense?
I see Trump is in full bluster mode. His usual opening salvo, in discussions He wants dealt with ASAP, after “He Takes the Wheel”
I see he’s looking for “Fair Payment” once again. So this time it’s 5% (Realistic increase from an “Inflation” adjusted 4%), and that’s fair, if everyone pays of course. Let’s see where we are at… um.. Well None!! Only 1 at 4%, and Only 2 at 3%. Hmm…
So Trump is seeking 3% is my guess, where everyone can meet and be OK with. Because it’s fair, it should work. He will “Pin the Tail On Ukraine” if you will, if anybody says “We Can’t” and make them look like absolute Fools to the Citizens that will be “Voting Next Election”
So this issue is resolved now, or shortly, but resolved. 3% is my solid guesstimate, at a doable % and without pushback.
This “Is Trump” at his best, and with everything lined up, and moves made for them. Try saying “No” to 3% for NATO… Go Ahead…
Trump just “Demanded A Fair Share” and that’s it. “Nothing More & Nothing Less” so who is going to say No? Do you want out of NATO? Are you broke, and if so, where’s all your money been coming from, that you have been spending?
NATO just got “Trumped” by the EU ironically. So let’s see what it’s (%) going to be…
What he’s signalling is the global financial crisis that is already underway, and that he wants to prioritise the money side of things for the USA, which includes expansion of territory, and cutting loose unnecessary expenditure such as NATO, apparently.
– What he’s signaling is the global financial crisis that is already underway, and that he wants to prioritize the money side of things for the USA, which includes expansion of territory, and cutting loose unnecessary expenditure such as NATO, apparently.
> Trump has been signaling the “Global Financial Crisis” since He announced His run. He is trying to firm up support for when He takes over. The expansion of territory with Greenland is to mitigate the leverage of China with “Rare Earth Metals and the like. It’s also an extremely defensive move, for many obvious reasons. Huge rewards for little expenditure and effort, which is the “Trump Way” Trumps approach to the border for example is the same. A wall is “Extremely” cheap to build and cheap to enforce. The impact is staggering however, with near 100% stoppage of your standard crossers. The others a bit more difficult, as they travel with guns, children, drugs, etc. and are ruthless. With Trumps approach, these examples can now be dealt with, and with a massive Improvement in effectiveness!
Neocon loves war.
2% or 5%, nothing is acceptable except wars and destruction.
It’s a racket.
making long post short!
Trump is illiterate uneducated mor1on. at least in global relations/finance/macro/etc stuff.
he always has been! has not learned a thing from 1st term 8 years ago!
I am not repub or democrat,cause I am not american, so no bias here!!
alx
Well from your post it appears that you are talking more about yourself than Mr Trump.
Most Amnericans are illiterate uneducated morons, at least in global relations/finance/macro/etc stuff. Trump is quite representative. Just as Biden was of the corruptocrats, and Kamala was of the California village idiots.
NATO serves no purpose. It has made Western Europe weak and poor with a pathetic birth rate. They do have “free healthcare” though if you don’t mind below marginally average care and waiting for months on end. The article 5 is also nonsense. It doesn’t say if one is attacked we all jump in as the media claims. It doesn’t even honor article one which is always try to work for peace. Ukraine threw that baby out with the bathwater numerous times.
Screw NATO. Let them defend themselves. See how it works out. It will absolutely solve one problem; illegal aliens. They will cut and run when conscription starts that’s for damn sure because that’s what illegal aliens do. No loyalty to anyone.
NATO didn’t do that, the over-generous public sectors did that, and the post-war leftist Gramscian garbage too. Europe has to go broke and be overrun with illegal aliens to learn it’s lesson and fight back. Hence you’re seeing the rise of nationalism.
Defense against who??? Russia has shown that it can barely fight a land war in its own backyard against the most corrupt government in the world, Ukaine. Which has evaporated how many billions? When Trump 1.0 questioned this, the democrats impeached him.
= Russia has shown that it can barely fight a land war
how is that Iraq/ Afghanistan 20+ years thing doing for USA?
still shooting sandal wearing locals? still can’t win?
Democrats & neocons: “Ukraine is beating Russia”
Also democrats and neocons: “Russia wants to invade France”
Most wars are economic anyway, and certainly nowadays the notion of anything resembling WW2 or WW1 happening is out of the question for pretty much every country in the world, with the possible exceptions of North Korea and Iran.
Agree
More spending doesn’t equal better defense.
Agreed. So euros can make up a larger portion
The EU countries could club together and buy Russia with the NATO budget.. maybe that’s Trump’s plan?
No. Sanctions.
Cui Bono? The usa really has only the MIC left as an industrial base. trump is just pushing for MIC sales. In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Says a guy who just watched as Biden literally shovels every last bit of money to Ukraine as he’s out the door.
it’s not even money… it’s debt…. someone else’s… and who’s getting paid? Bidens.
Here’s a thought to ponder:
If we had one world government with no national borders any longer, then we wouldn’t need any “defense” spending because we would all be one and no need to fight between each others.
Discuss.
If it were possible, it would have happened centuries ago. Discuss THAT. 🙂
John Lennon is dead.
…and not from old age, but from human behaviouir.
Imagine a boot stomping on a face forever.
Just had 4 years of that, in the EU, China, DPRK, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, Canada, Australia, NZ, UK, plenty of that too…
Ever heard of civil wars? That’s all you’re doing – changing the name/status of a war.
Maybe we should start a pool. How many people think it will be 100, 200, 300, even 500 posts from poor Mish the next four years saying “Trump wants to farm on the moon,” with Mish explaining why he cant do this and cant do that? Maybe some type of Las Vegas thing …
Maybe. Greenland will be an interesting test case though.
The guy is seriously mentally challenged. The US already spends an absurd amount of money on defense and is unable to win a war ita save its life, non even against a bunch of foot soldiers in rags and sneakers. Now he wants to waste even more money on defense by his allies.
What he does not get, also, is that the the US is not defending the EU, but is defending its own interested in Europe. But i guess he is too obtuse to understand that. He is trying to make America weak by alienating all of its allies. Not that his MAGA geniuses would get it.
Were you worried about the waste of 200 billion to Ukraine so far? Or did you just decide this
Biden, off the top of is head, just committed the Federal government to cover ALL of the disaster response for the LA area fires for 180 days, even though he won’t be the President for 170 of those days! This is estimated to cost $50 billion.
And why can’t LA pay their own bills? That’s what taxes are for. The Federal government should only step in when their money has run out.
Umm, Jojo, this is off topic dear. See how that works.
the on-topic bit is that the regime just spends like its infinity money.
Refreshing
I’m not just a Senator for Democrats—I’m a Senator for all Pennsylvanians.
It’s my job to find common ground and deliver results for everybody.
And because nobody is my gatekeeper, I will meet with anyone to secure some wins, including President Trump.
Reduce the denominator of NATO to 0
Global King Trump I has spoken
Booo! You need to recognize that *I* am your ruler! The fat stinky guy just wanted to stay out of jail.
Who? Biden? Which one?
The US should tell the EU to reverse the Digital Services Act. The US should not be paying for the defense of countries that have little respect for free speech.
Exactly! Like how Israel doesn’t want anyone speaking up on American campuses, so they label any criticism “anti-semitism”. And American congresspeople immediately fall in line – like Trump’s designated Ambassador to the UN – Elise Stefanik. Let Israel defend itself, those censors!,
The EU has too many luxury services for it’s obese public sector that it wouldn’t have if it had to pay its own way… this is one reason the UK left… sick of paying for the French to live a life they can’t afford.
You buy their products on credit (balance of trade deficit).
They are forced to pay for over-priced American weapons and LNG.
How exactly do you subsidize them; their public sector, by the way, is nowhere as obese as American Healthcare or Americans personally.
Alternatively EU can pay $1 Trillion/year to USA for defense.
The US isn’t defending anybody from anyone.
DEI ruined the military. No wonder they can’t even get close to recruiting goals anymore….just like the fires, they don’t care if the chief is a lesbian.
Falling short on recruiting goals is a good thing. I wish the entire US military were illiterate transsexual handicapped midgets. They’d cause fewer problems. What I don’t want is the best sons of the heartland being sent to fight Iran for Israel or firing rockets into Russia over some border dispute that has nothing to do with us.
be careful what you wish for…
The days of all white males in anything is over, and if you havent gotten used to that by now, just take a look at the movies and shows on streaming where I havent found a “John Smith” in the cast in years. DEI means giving everyone a chance .. including some black lady would might just clean your clock. 🙂
Umm, i want the best person for the job. If that person is green so be it…that’s not what DEI is and you know it.
Further did you not read how LA county would not hire white male firefighters? You really want to argue the virtue of that…the sheer degree of idiocy on display that cannot be defended by the left is almost too much to take. And you claim to be educated?
I dont argue Fox News tripe.
You’re right. How’s that DEI mayor working out for you in Chicago? How bout LA?
Fox is just another left-wing channel, just not as extreme left as your favourite ones.
Probably one of those educated idiots that US universities are so famous for producing.
Fine. Go with your DEI. Let the colored people fight for Israel. I’d prefer no Americans fighting for Israel – except maybe Mike Pompeo and Lindsay Graham.
It really doesn’t… it means more racism and discrimination but presented in a big lie package. Giving everyone a chance based on what they are rather than what they are competent at, is a mistake.
Here in Canada, we now need to seriously consider defending ourselves against the U.S., an unreliable ally to say the least, which as expected under Trump 2.0, is again treating NATO like a protection racket. Only even more egregiously than under Trump 1.0. Which is why I support a massive increase in defence spending here, including the acquisition of nukes. The U.S. is now seen by many here as more of a potential military threat than even China or Russia. And the irony is, I’m very pro-America. Great work MAGAts!
Puhleeze. You aren’t getting invaded, eh. Perhaps annexed but I’m not sure we want you. Not you personally.
Just like how England annexed Scotland when it went broke, and how Australia absorbs a big chunk of the NZ working population – the ones that can’t afford to go to the UK, US, or Canada to work for higher wages.
And with us now owning Greenland .. take a look at a map. Canada is surrounded!!! Haha!
Canada’s been militarily sponging off the U.S. since the end of WWII, when they realized the U.S. wouldn’t let an enemy sit on their northern border. If your country’s military can’t defend your country, you better have strong allies and get along with them. Otherwise it’s just a matter of time……
Watch your P’s & Q’s or we’ll make you take back Neil Young.
I think Joe Rogan made a joke about that… Canada is being colonised by India and China… you’re gonna love the corruption and human rights abuses, that’ll show whitey!
If Canada can stop believing the same wealth effect lies that the US does, it could affordably defend itself from anyone, including the US, just fine. Turning shelter into a speculative orgy like the govts of the US and Canada has done with interest rate repression kindles the flames of vengeance.
America’s spending on “defense” should match that of the Europeons. We’d save a shit ton of money, but there would be the danger of peace breaking out.
Tired of being 🌎 👮♂️
yeah, let Russia do it for a change, and India, and China, that’ll work.
Then let them fend for themselves when “Russian tanks roll through Ukraine, then Poland, then the rest of Europe”.
Europe is more communist than Russia.
That is actually true nowadays…
Russia has zero interest in rolling through “Poland, then the rest of Europe” unless/until the US starts attacking Russia directly from those countries. Blinken and Sullivan would love to do that, but those sociopaths will be out of a job soon – not soon enough.
Please, It’s been 2 years and Russia can’t even manage to “roll through” a quarter of Ukraine.
Because it isn’t Ukraine doing the heavy lifting, and everyone is tiptoeing around the nuclear war and blame game triggers. It’s all theatre.
Shows how little you know about the strength and capabilities of the various militaries in Europe.
Russia doesn’t have the capability or capacity to roll through Europe.
If Russia did have the capability most of the military in NATO countries couldn’t stop them.
Poland probably had the best equipped military and Germany the worst (pathetic best description) with France in the middle. The rest of NATO’s members are so small as to be worthless.
Most of the military establishments around the world are nothing more than people playing make believe soldiers and spending a lot of money to do it.
As one Japanese Ranger qualified officer told me when I was in Japan: “All we are is a bunch of boy scouts with a bunch of toys.”.
It is noticeable that the rise of smartphones and internet social media has accelerated the decline in militaries… most young people want to be bitcoin bros or instagram queens, and certainly don’t want to break a nail in a war.
Pay up Buttercup. Europe has never paid their way for our protection.
…but then where would you go for slim women and healthy food and decent culture?
Then kick them the hell out of NATO.
And shut it down.
yeah and move the capital of the USA back to London, and rename the president as the prime minister, and put ol Kingy back in charge, whilst you bring back all the colonies into the fold… that’ll show ’em.
He’s asked for 5 and really wants 3%, which he will get. Negotiations 101.
I believe you cannot read. Or perhaps you have TDS.
No chance of 3 percent.
It’s possible but unlikely they propose 3 percent but they will not deliver.
More likely is 2.5 percent and I doubt they deliver that either.
However, after 200 years of Europeans fighting stupid European wars, they really oughta get with the program more and pay for something and stop looking over here. We’re fresh out of America’s best too.
Germany is in recession, along with most of the broke EU countries – they can barely afford the status quo, no chance of cuts or tax hikes to pay for war games, the French public have given their verdict on Macron’s call for military action.. Rien!