Fitch reported that following the Russia-Ukraine war that started 3 years ago, almost all European countries increased their defense budgets, but some countries' budgets remained below the 2 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) determined by NATO.
It was recalled that European Union (EU) Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had said this month that the joint spending of EU member states should exceed 3 percent of GDP, and that the UK had pledged to increase its defense spending to 2.5 percent of its GDP by 2027.
The statement stated that these spending in the UK would be financed with deductions from overseas aid and that the target was to increase it to 3 percent later.