Estonia, always cited for spending above the required 2% of GDP level for NATO defense expeditures, has been told that in reality, the absolute amount is ridiculously low and needs to rise to 4% or higher.
It said that member states’ defense expenditures were subjected to an in-depth scrutiny during a hearing behind the closed doors of NATO last year, reported The Baltic Times.
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“Last year was the first time that we were no longer the darling. We were told that we are a country on the border, this two percent no longer sells, your absolute amounts are ridiculous,” Meelis Oidsalu, deputy secretary general for defense planning at the Estonian Ministry of Defense, told the Estonian press.
The voice of the high-ranking state official is calm. Just like the NATO rapporteurs who evaluated Estonia, he is not someone who engages in politics. He understands it that the courtesy of fellow alliance members had its inertia, and for Estonia it ran out last year. Oidsalu doesn’t say that Estonia should start running somewhere head over heels, but he does feel concern, wrote The Baltic Times.
A priority for the Baltic nation is an air defense capability as well a armor purchases.
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U.S. President Trump has pushed the NATO allies to spend more for their own defense rather than rely on the American defense umbrella, all the while funding their generous welfare state and abusing the U.S. on trade.
