Global Courant 2023-05-20 22:36:50
The US ambassador to NATO says the alliance expects Canada and other member states to have a clear plan on how they will meet their defense spending targets when they meet this summer to renegotiate their spending targets.
The United States is one of only seven NATO member states to have met and surpassed the 2% of GDP defense spending target by 2021 – the target agreed as part of the 2014 Wales summit statement – according to the statement by NATO Secretary General’s latest annual report.
With that 10-year commitment expiring next year, alliance members will meet in July in Lithuania to renegotiate the spending target on the program.
“Negotiations are still ongoing,” Julianne Smith told CTV’s Question Period host Vassy Kapelos, in an interview that aired Sunday. “I can’t say for sure what form it will take, but my prediction is that it will aim to make the 2% target a lasting commitment.”
Smith echoed the sentiment of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who said the two percent target is likely to become the floor, rather than a ceiling.
Canada has long faced calls to increase its pledges and will spend about 1.3 percent of its GDP on defense in 2021 according to the Secretary General’s report, but the Washington Post reported previous month that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau privately told NATO that Canada will never do that. meet the goal.
Smith said this isn’t a conversation she’s had with her Canadian counterpart.
“If we have a group of countries that cannot announce that they have reached the 2% target by 2024, the expectation is that countries will have a plan to meet the 2% target,” she said. “And we say that because collective security is clearly something that requires resources.”
Smith said Canada is among other allies that have “significantly increased” their defense spending, namely by increasing defense spending by $8 billion over five years, as announced in the 2022 federal budget.
That commitment, according to the federal government, will bring the country’s defense spending to 1.5 percent of GDP by 2027. The government has also announced plans to purchase new fighter jets and modernize Norad.
“We welcome those increases,” Smith said. “But of course, again, the expectation is that all allies will have plans to meet the two percent target.”
“Canada is making important contributions on multiple fronts,” Smith also said, citing the country’s efforts in Ukraine and in the Baltics, adding that she doesn’t want anyone to “underestimate the importance of that kind of leadership.”
But, she said, NATO evaluates member states’ commitments along three lines: its capabilities, its contributions to NATO missions and operations, and money.
“So yes, Canada is making significant contributions to NATO missions and investing in its capabilities, but we believe the two percent target is where countries need to land to deliver on the plans we’re about to roll out.” said Smit. “So that two percent is just as important as the contributions to NATO missions and the new capabilities that countries buy.”
