Finland – one of NATO’s newest members – plans to spend 5% of GDP on defence by 2032.
The announcement was made by Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo on Saturday:
“There have been internal discussions about the timeline, and we are looking at 2032,” Orpo said during his address. He confirmed the government’s earlier decision made in April to increase military spending to three percent of GDP by 2029.”
The Finnish announcement comes ahead of the NATO summit later this month, where member countries are likely to agree to a new 5% target (likely including 3.5% spent directly on defence and 1.5% on ‘defence-related’ areas such as infrastructure with military uses, critical minerals, etc.).
Countries are seeking to get their pledges out in front of the summit, to reduce pressure and potential criticism.
Canada may be about to do the same, with Prime Minister Mark Carney set to make an announcement on “defence and security priorities” tomorrow morning, and tour a military facility later in the day.
Spencer Fernando
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