12/03/2024 (Agence Europe) – On Monday 11 March, Polish President Andrzej Duda called on the allies to increase their defence spending to 3% of GDP. Currently, 19 of the 32 allies are meeting the 2% commitment made in 2014 (see EUROPE 13350/20) and the declaration from the Washington summit in July could make this 2% a minimum. “I want to propose in the near future [...] that NATO countries decide together that the Alliance’s requirement will be to spend not 2%, but 3% of GDP on defence”, Mr Duda told the media, adding that this would be “the limit below which it will absolutely not be advisable to go”. According to NATO, Poland is expected to have spent 3.90% of its GDP on defence in 2023, making it the leading NATO country in terms of percentage of expenditure, ahead of the United States (3.49%). (CG)