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Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Dutch NATO math portends uphill battle for Europe on defense spending
PARIS — The Netherlands worked out the costs of meeting NATO's new capability targets, providing a taste of the billion-euro budget challenge European members of the alliance face to boost their military posture in the face of a more aggressive Russia. The Dutch calculate that meeting their share of the targets will cost at least €16 billion to €19 billion ($18 billion-$21 billion) a year on top of the existing defense budget, Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans told parliament in a letter last week. That would amount to about 3.5% of GDP, from 2% now – conveniently also the core defense spending target that NATO leadership is calling for. NATO's Capability Targets 2025, to be formally set at a summit in The Hague in June, will significantly increase the requirements compared to previous targets, according to the Dutch. The CT25 focus will be on ground-based air and missile defense, ground-based fire support, land maneuver units and joint enablers, Brekelmans said. For the larger economies of Germany, France and the U.K., meeting the new targets means 'we're no longer talking about a few billion extra per year, but tens of billions,' said Dick Zandee, senior research fellow at Dutch think tank Clingendael Institute and former head of planning at the European Defence Agency. The three countries have the biggest defense budgets of European NATO members, spending a little over 2% of GDP on their military. The Netherlands is Europe's sixth-biggest spender, lifting its 2025 defense budget to €22 billion euros from €21.4 billion last year. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly demanded NATO countries increase military spending to 5% of GDP, threatening to pull out of the alliance if members don't pay up. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said this week he expects alliance members to agree to a 5% spending target in The Hague, with a proposal for 3.5% of GDP for direct military spending and another 1.5% for related spending such as infrastructure and cybersecurity. The Netherlands also estimates meeting the new NATO capability targets will require 17,000 to 18,000 more personnel. While the 32-nation alliance typically keeps the capability targets secret, NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation Adm. Pierre Vandier said in March the alliance will ask members to raise military capability targets by 30% – even with allies already 30% behind on delivering on existing goals. The Dutch say the NATO 'standard path' to fully meet the capability targets has been 19 years, but current threats make a faster build-up necessary, and NATO expects 'a significant part will already be built up in the coming years.' Brekelmans says around €9 billion to €10 billion of the calculated costs and 8,500 to 9,000 of the personnel count are attributable to the Netherlands not yet having fully met NATO's 2021 capability targets. While NATO defense planning is based on the principle that all the capabilities are realized, 'in practice of course, that is never achieved,' Zandee said. Neighboring Germany and Belgium have similar issues as the Netherlands of having to play catch up with the 2021 targets, with personnel shortages partially explaining the shortcomings, he said. 'All countries are coming out of roughly two decades of severe budget cuts, all countries to a varying degree donated to Ukraine, reducing stocks and supplies,' Zandee said. 'The Netherlands is not really in a unique position in this regard.' The calculations by Brekelmans exclude the costs of host nation support, with Dutch responsibility within the alliance for large-scale transfer of military equipment, as well as homeland defense and military activities outside the NATO treaty area, such as the Caribbean Netherlands. That means total defense costs would exceed 3.5% of GDP, according to Brekelmans. The Netherlands has typically been transparent about the costs of NATO targets, according to Zandee. Publishing the figures serves a political purpose in trying to muster broad parliamentary and coalition-government support for a bigger defense budget, a politically sensitive issue in the country, and gain popular support for more spending, he said. Spending 3.5% of GDP on core defense is achievable for a country like the Netherlands with healthy public finances, and also quite doable for Scandinavian countries, Zandee said. For countries in southern Europe with high debt levels 'it does become a big problem,' for example in France, where more defense spending will mean more borrowing. Italy, Spain and Belgium, among the NATO members that spend the least on defense relative to their economy, all have government debt to GDP ratios above 100%. Greece and France, the other European Union countries in NATO whose debt exceeds GDP, have historically been bigger military spenders. By contrast, the Netherlands had a debt to GDP ratio of 43.3% at the end of 2024, while for Germany the ratio was 62.5%. Zandee expects Germany under new Chancellor Friedrich Merz will agree to the 3.5% target, the British as loyal allies will commit despite 'major financial problems,' while the Netherlands will ultimately also go along. 'The problem mainly starts in Belgium and then further south,' Zandee said. 'The French will simply take the budgetary risk, because they are not going to back down. But the Italians and the Spanish in particular will have to perform some fancy maneuvering.' Some countries are already well on their way to meeting the NATO target. Estonia announced in April that it would increase defense spending to 5.4% of GDP already in 2026 and through to 2029, for an additional €2.8 billion of additional budget over four years, with the government saying spending would take into account the NATO capability targets. Meanwhile, Denmark said in February it will spend an additional 50 billion Danish kroner (US$7.6 billion) in 2025 and 2026 to strengthen its armed forces in the short term, also with a view to NATO demands and capability targets, lifting defense spending to above 3% of GDP. Poland is the only NATO country that has already met the new target, spending 4.1% of GDP on defense in 2024, for total spending of around $35 billion. Some countries may agree to 3.5% of core defense spending in The Hague with no intention of ever reaching the target, to keep NATO alive, even if they won't say so publicly, Zandee said. He said the same happened with the 2% spending target agreed in Wales in 2014. 'When it comes to the survival of the alliance and keeping the Americans in, I think even those countries will simply agree to it,' Zandee said. 'That 3.5% is almost a done deal. If Trump can wave that one piece of paper and say, 'I've achieved all this,' then the NATO summit will have been a success, it's as simple as that.'
Express Tribune
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Indian flag not hoisted at National Stadium for CT
A section of the Indian media on Monday had kicked up a controversy on the missing flag. Photo: AFP/File The social media has been abuzz with the talk of the missing Indian flag from among those hoisted at the National Bank Stadium, Karachi, for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 that commences on Wednesday (today). However, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials have dismissed the row, claiming it is not obligatory to hoist the flags of all the participating nations. "Not putting up India's flag at the National Stadium's main pavilion in Karachi ahead of the Champions Trophy is neither an offense nor an obligation," sources in the PCB told the Telecomasia website ( on Tuesday. A section of the Indian media on Monday had kicked up a controversy on the missing flag at the NSK, after some social media handles posted videos showing flags of some of the countries being hoisted at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi. They termed it a snub to the neighbours for refusing to send its team to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy. The footage of the main building of the National Stadium released the other day showed flags of all the countries hoisted on top, barring that of India The footage, which quickly gained traction online, triggered a widespread debate on the social media. However, the authenticity of the video could not be independently verified. The knowledgeable sources confirmed that only four flags will be hoisted during the CT25 matches as per the International Cricket Council (ICC), besides those of the two competing sides on the match days. It must be mentioned here that the build-up of the Champions Trophy was marred by political tensions between the arch rivals after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) informed the ICC that the Indian government has refused to allow the Indian cricket team to play in Pakistan. That was followed by a month-long impasse and the mega event almost got relocated to the United Arab Emirates. Later, as per a deal brokered by the ICC, Pakistan agreed to host the event on a hybrid model with India playing its Champions Trophy matches in Dubai on the condition that Pakistan will not send its team to play in India for the next ICC event and will instead play its matches at a neutral venue. More controversy erupted two weeks back when the Indian media came out with the news that Rohit Sharma's team would not wear a shirt with Pakistan's name as the Champions Trophy host. However, the row died down pretty quickly after the BCCI denied any such thing and said the Indian team will have no objections in wearing the official CT 2025 jersey bearing the names of all participating teams including hosts Pakistan. In another related development, the ICC announced there would be no photo shoots of the captains ahead of the Champions Trophy as it would not be not possible to gather all the teams in Karachi on February 16, the original scheduled date of the opening ceremony.
Express Tribune
12-02-2025
- Sport
- Express Tribune
PCB to induct Hanif Mohammad into HOF
Pakistan cricket great Hanif Mohammad will be posthumously inducted into the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Hall of Fame on February 12, with his son Shoaib Mohammad set to receive the commemorative plaque and cap, PCB sources said on Saturday. Hanif, who was among the initial inductees announced in 2021, had his formal induction ceremony delayed due to various factors, including management changes and scheduling conflicts. "Yes, but due to various reasons - sometimes due to non-availabilities and sometimes due to management changes - this couldn't take place earlier," a PCB source told Reuters. The ceremony will be held during Pakistan's tri-series match against South Africa in Karachi, marking the first international match in the city since May 2023, the source added. Meanwhile, the formal inductions of former cricketers Saeed Anwar and Mushtaq Mohammad will take place after the 2025 Champions Trophy, as the players were unavailable for the current series. "Saeed Anwar was not available due to his prior commitments while Mushtaq Mohammad is overseas. Their inductions will take place after CT25 as and when they are available," the source said. Last week, the PCB formally inducted former captains Inzamam-ul-Haq and Misbah-ul-Haq into the Hall of Fame, recognising their respective services towards the national men's team. The former cricketers received their commemorative caps and plaques by PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi during the ongoing first match of the tri-nation ODI series between Pakistan and New Zealand. Inzamam and Misbah marched around the stadium wearing their commemorative caps and received overwhelming applause from the spectators. Notably, the two former captains were named in the PCB Hall of Fame class of 2024 alongside Saeed Anwar and Mushtaq, who are yet to be inducted formally into the prestigious list. The PCB Hall of Fame, established to honour the contributions of Pakistan's cricketing legends, already includes icons such as Abdul Qadir, A.H. Kardar, Fazal Mahmood, Hanif Mohammad, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Younis Khan and Zaheer Abbas.
