
European defence spending topped 200 billion euros for the first time in 2021, the European Defence Agency (EDA) said on Thursday, accounting for 1.5% of the 26 EDA member states' gross domestic product.
It rose 6% from 2020 to 214 billion euros ($225 billion), EDA said in its annual Defence Data Report, the strongest growth since the region started boosting military expenditure in 2015 following Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.