NATO calls on EU countries to increase their ground-based air defense systems fivefold

NATO has appealed to European countries to increase the potential of ground-based air defense fivefold, seeking to eliminate a critical gap in the face of the growing threat from Russia. About this informs Bloomberg.

This issue is scheduled to be discussed on Thursday, June 5, during a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels. This is a common goal for the European members of the Alliance, but the amount of each country’s contribution may vary. Specific terms for the implementation of the initiative have not yet been determined.

Defense ministers this week are expected to take one of the biggest decisions on stockpiles since the Cold War, as part of efforts by Europe and Canada to rearm and reduce dependence on American defense systems. The meeting in Brussels will be a preparatory stage for the summit of NATO leaders, scheduled for June 24-25 in The Hague.

At the initiative of US President Donald Trump, NATO member countries are beginning to rally around a new financial goal — to spend 5% of GDP: 3.5% — on basic defense, another 1.5% — on tangential areas, including infrastructure, cyber defense, and civil security.

“We are not at war, but we are not at peace either. We must continue to strengthen deterrence and defense, and that means moving to full combat readiness.” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said.

The Alliance desperately needs the development of ground-based air defense to counter increasingly complex threats — from drones to missiles and combat aircraft. Over the past three decades, NATO has scaled back such systems, focusing on challenges outside its Cold War-era area of ​​responsibility — particularly in the Middle East and North Africa.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, for his part, intends to accelerate the increase in the country’s defense budget and direct billions of euros to additional air defense systems. The moves include expanding the European Sky Shield initiative launched by his predecessor, Olaf Scholz. The NATO-backed project envisages the creation of a European ground-based air defense system capable of intercepting ballistic missiles.