Norway plans to reach a NATO defense-spending target of 2% of gross domestic product by 2026 as it steps up expenditures after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(Bloomberg) — Norway plans to reach a NATO defense-spending target of 2% of gross domestic product by 2026 as it steps up expenditures after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The country, which has the highest defense spending per capita in the alliance after the US, until now hadn’t presented a plan for reaching the target. With a massive network of natural gas pipelines in the North Sea and a border with Russia, Norway’s security relies upon NATO and bilateral treaties to supplement its own military forces.
“This is where our insurance is, and with the new security policy landscape, I think I can say that the insurance premium is going up,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store told reporters on Tuesday.
Norway’s plan to reach the target will be presented at the NATO summit in Vilnius in July, the premier said.
Norway initially reached the target in 2020 after an economic contraction, but even though it has spent an additional 11 billion kroner ($1 billion) since then, expansion in the oil-reach economy due to high energy prices has seen it fall short on the goal since then.
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