U.S. Defense Secretary Mattis to press European allies on military spending

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U.S. Defense Secretary Mattis to press European allies on military spending

By Robin Emmott and Idrees Ali

 

FILE PHOTO - U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis joins White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders for the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S. February 7, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

 

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis will press European allies on Wednesday to stick to a promise to increase military budgets as the United States offers an increase in its own defence spending in Europe.

 

For the first time, NATO countries have submitted plans to show how they will reach a target to spend 2 percent of economic output on defence every year by 2024, after Trump threatened to withdraw U.S. support for low-spending allies.

 

Fifteen of the 28 countries, excluding the United States, now have a strategy to meet a NATO benchmark first agreed in 2014 in response to Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region, following years of cuts to European defence budgets.

 

It is unclear whether that will be enough to impress U.S. President Donald Trump when he attends a NATO summit in July.

 

While France plans to increase defence spending by more than a third between 2017 and 2025, Spain has said it will not meet the 2024 target, while Belgium and Italy are also lagging.

 

A multi-billion euro projected increase in Germany will not be enough to take Berlin up to 2 percent by 2024.

 

Mattis is expected to take a tough stance, according to Katie Wheelbarger, principal U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defence for international security affairs.

 

"He will address those who don't have national plans to meet 2 percent and suggest they really need to develop those plans," she told reporters.

 

MIXED MESSAGE?

 

The issue of low defence spending in Europe has long been an irritant in Washington. But Russia's military modernisation, Islamist militancy and electronic warfare on computer networks have underscored Europe's heavy reliance on the United States.

 

According to NATO data, Britain, Greece, Romania and the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania meet, or are close to, the 2 percent goal, while France and Turkey are among those countries set to reach it soon.

 

One area of tension lies in the language of the NATO spending pledge of 2014. Allies committed to "move towards" 2 percent, while Trump now says 2 percent is the "bare minimum."

 

Trump has also set an example by proposing a $1.7 billion (£1.2 billion) increase in military expenditure in Europe for 2019, as the United States leads NATO efforts to deter Russia.

 

But U.S. officials have also sown confusion about their support for a new defence pact to coordinate European Union defence policy and allow countries to club together to buy arms.

 

Wheelbarger warned that "we don't want to see EU efforts pulling requirements or activity away from NATO and into the EU." The U.S. envoy to NATO, Kay Bailey Hutchison, said there were concerns that U.S. defence companies would be shut out.

 

"We do not want this to be a protectionist vehicle for the EU," she said of the proposed pact.

 

(Reporting by Robin Emmott; Editing by Gareth Jones)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-02-14

[thaibeachlovers]

'bout time the US got tough on those Euro shirkers. I hope Mattis really sticks it to them.

Be interesting to be the fly on the wall at a meeting in Britain, considering the pathetic state of UK military currently.

[Dumbastheycome]

So is  this  actually  about  "defence" or  defence  "spending" with  the inference that  of course  it  will  mandatory  to  buy from the  USA ? 

It  would  be a  kick in the  guts  if  theses  European  countries  went  eastwards  and  bought  Chinese equipment.

After all the USA  itself contract sources a   fair percentage  of  military components from  China anyway.

[Flyfish]

Suggest a re read of the article....whilst uk military spending should improve further in my opinion,it is very close to the 2% and has been for many years. Unlike the other big EU economies like France and Germany,Italy and Spain etc ,,,,,they are not even close yet!

Edited February 14, 2018 by Flyfish

[Baerboxer]

11 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

'bout time the US got tough on those Euro shirkers. I hope Mattis really sticks it to them.

Be interesting to be the fly on the wall at a meeting in Britain, considering the pathetic state of UK military currently.

 

Did you not read the OP? Check out who meets the target already.

 

My relatives who served in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan and still serve would agree that more resources are required. But I'd like you to tell them they're pathetic and see how it goes!

 

 

[Baerboxer]

6 hours ago, Flyfish said:

Suggest a re read of the article....whilst uk military spending should improve further in my opinion,it is very close to the 2% and has been for many years. Unlike the other big EU economies like France and Germany,Italy and Spain etc ,,,,,they are not even close yet!

 

Usual trick of those countries - get away with it while you can! 

[dave_boo]

3 hours ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Did you not read the OP? Check out who meets the target already.

 

My relatives who served in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan and still serve would agree that more resources are required. But I'd like you to tell them they're pathetic and see how it goes!

 

 

It's not the soldiers, many of whom I was alongside of in Iraq, but their governments being cheap Charlies. The fact that they ended up stuck in ranks for way longer than any US soldier was is just emblematic, in my opinion, of the low esteem their governments have towards the military. 

 

The EU formation and having the US military defence umbrella has went a long way to assuaging fears leading to a large military. Right or wrong that's how it seems to be.

[thaibeachlovers]

15 hours ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Did you not read the OP? Check out who meets the target already.

 

My relatives who served in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan and still serve would agree that more resources are required. But I'd like you to tell them they're pathetic and see how it goes!

 

 

No thanks, I've served with many British servicemen, and most very good chaps, but you know perfectly well I'm talking about the British government and the dead wood bureaucrats that do nothing but cut and destroy the services.

It pains me to see how the British forces have been short changed by the penny counters.

[thaibeachlovers]

22 hours ago, Flyfish said:

Suggest a re read of the article....whilst uk military spending should improve further in my opinion,it is very close to the 2% and has been for many years. Unlike the other big EU economies like France and Germany,Italy and Spain etc ,,,,,they are not even close yet!

Bit irrelevant if they are spending 2% if they don't have a navy capable of doing much. They need functioning equipment NOW, not in a few years after they can afford to buy F35s, and even then not enough to be efficient.