Mr Hunt with his Ukrainian counterpart Sergei Marchenko on St. Michael's Square during his visit to Kiev Photo: HM Treasury
European countries , including France and Germany, must «take action» and meet Britain's defense spending plans, Jeremy Hunt has said.
The Chancellor has delivered his strongest government rebuke yet of NATO countries failing their weight. He was speaking on a trip to Kiev after ministers unveiled a new £500 million arms package for Ukraine, including long-range missiles.
Rishi Sunak announced his visit to Poland. this week the UK will increase defense spending to 2.5 percent of GDP — or £87 billion a year — by 2030.
The Prime Minister said the commitment represented a «new benchmark» and planned to lobby NATO allies to live up to it at the July summit.
Mr Hunt went further on Thursday, insisting that other European countries have an obligation to take the same position to send a message to Russia.
“It’s time for European countries to step up and meet the targets we set,” the chancellor told The Telegraph.
“If only all other European NATO countries followed our example and met our 2.5 percent guarantee, it would increase our collective defense spending by £140 billion.
“There could be no clearer signal to Vladimir Putin that we will not let him win.”
NATO's current target for defense spending is set at 2% of GDP, although only 11 of 32 member countries have reached this target in 2023.
France spent 1.9%. According to data published by the Alliance, just 1.6 percent of GDP was spent on the military last year, while Germany contributed just 1.6 percent.
Britain is set to spend just over 2.3 percent in this year and has charted a path to increase that amount to 2.5 percent by the early 2030s.
The Chancellor laid flowers at the memorial to soldiers who have died since the Russian invasion began. Photo: HM Treasury
Donald Trump said in February that he would allow Russia to do “whatever the hell they do.” want» to countries that fall short of the 2 percent target.
A former US president is running to return to the White House this fall, raising concerns about America's future support for NATO.
Mr Sunak warned on Wednesday that all European countries must increase their defense spending to keep the US «committed» to the alliance.
Earlier this week, the US House of Representatives passed a long-delayed bill authorizing $60bn (£48bn) in new military aid to Ukraine.
But the promise of funding sparked controversy as some Republicans led by Trump opposed until the migration crisis on the southern border was resolved.
Mr Hunt said the increase in UK defense spending was only possible because the UK had «get its public finances in order.»
He said inflation's fall to its lowest level in nearly two-and-a-half years showed «the economy is changing.» corner after the turmoil of recent years.”
“Britain's commitment to spending 2.5 percent of GDP on defense by 2030 shows we take our role as leaders seriously on the world stage,” he added.
«This comes at a time when autocratic states such as Russia, Iran and China are increasingly working together, threatening our collective security.»He also defended his plans to pay for the raise by cutting the civil service to pre-existing levels pre-Covid, with 70,000 job losses freeing up £2.9 billion. .
“It’s time to reduce costs and focus on a leaner, more efficient workforce,” he said.