NATO eyes increased defence budgets amid rising threats
According to Javier Colomina, NATO's representative for southern neighbours, the North Atlantic Alliance plans to demand that member states allocate more than the current 2 per cent of GDP for defence. In an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, Colomina emphasized the necessity of increasing investments due to threats in the East and South.
– It's a complicated debate, but 2 per cent is a level that everyone accepts as a necessity – stated Javier Colomina in an interview with "El Mundo." The Spanish diplomat added that the trend in the Alliance will be to demand even higher investments in defence.
Time to increase spending
Currently, most NATO countries meet the goal of spending 2 per cent of their GDP on defence, set a decade ago. At the forefront is Poland, which allocates over 4 per cent of its GDP for this purpose. In contrast, Spain, with spending at 1.28 per cent, is at the bottom of the list.
Colomina stressed that Russia's invasion of Ukraine demonstrated the need to increase defence spending. According to him, allocating at least 2 per cent is necessary to "have sufficient capability to defend every inch of NATO territory."
The two most important directions
The diplomat noted that "there is no doubt that the Alliance naturally focuses on the eastern flank and Russia. It is ingrained in its DNA." At the same time, he pointed out the need for greater engagement in the South. – The growing and increasingly dangerous presence of Russia in the South has made it easier to convince many NATO member countries that (...) the South must be a priority – he admitted.
NATO's capabilities in the East and South differ from each other. On the eastern flank, the emphasis is on conventional, collective defence. In contrast, in the South, not only military means but also diplomacy and non-military instruments are needed. Colomina emphasized that "the purely military response, which has been applied for years in the Sahel region, with France's massive presence, (...) did not bring the expected success."
– The military response cannot be imposed from outside, it must be carried out jointly with the countries of the region. They must initiate these actions – emphasized the Alliance representative. At the same time, he admitted that "the threats observed in the Sahel cannot be combated solely with a socio-economic response." In his view, "a military response may also be significant."
Finally, Colomina referred to his new role in NATO. At the end of July, he was appointed to the newly created position of NATO representative for southern neighbours. This nomination was met with criticism from Italy, which had been advocating for creating this position and hoped to fill it.
