NATO's Stoltenberg expects allies to lift defence spending target

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg gives a statement before a meeting with EU Commissioners in Brussels, Belgium, January 11, 2023.REUTERS/Johanna Geron

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expects the alliance's member states to raise their current spending target on defence of 2% of national output when they meet for a summit in Vilnius in July, he told German newspaper Die Welt.

"I assume that there will be a new target for defence spending when we meet for the NATO summit in Vilnius in July this year," Stoltenberg told Welt.