This year, Spain plans to allocate an additional €2.08 billion for defense by reallocating funds for procurement contracts from the Ministry of Defense. Among the 32 NATO member states, Spain has the lowest defense spending as a percentage of economic output, which stands at only 1.3%. Achieving the Alliance’s target of 2% is planned for 2029, which will require additional expenditures of approximately €10 billion per year.
This is reported by Business • Media
Italy and Croatia’s Plans for Defense Spending
At the same time, Italy is preparing to announce plans to increase defense spending to reach the 2% of GDP target no later than the end of June. Currently, the country allocates about 1.5% of GDP for defense. Discussions continue in military and political circles regarding a possible increase in funding to 3.5% of GDP.
Croatia Increases Defense Spending
Croatia, for its part, plans to raise defense spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 and to 3% by 2030. Currently, Zagreb spends 2% of its economic output on defense. The country is negotiating with Germany for the purchase of 50 Leopard tanks.