Given insecurity, a prebélico climate in Europe and a world completely altered from the arrival of Donald Trump to power, Great Britain decided to increase its defense expenses to 2.5 percent of GDP on Tuesday, to the detriment of international development aid . A decision that the prime minister serves Keir Starmer He adopted before his arrival in Washington, after publicly defending Ukraine and announce that it is necessary “a security agreement with Europe.”
European leaders plan to meet next Sunday in London to discuss “joint defense and security plans”, after Starmer’s visit to Washington.
Faced with a full chamber and with conservatives in full agreement, Prime Minister Sir Kir Starmer said that defense expenditure will increase to 2.5% of GDP from 2027, compared to the current 2.3%. Or 2.6% if intelligence agencies are included.
“We must change our national security position,” said Starmer. “That will imply difficult decisions,” he said.
“We are in a world where everything has changed from Russian invasion to Ukraine in 2022. The nature of war has changed. It is an evidence that when we look at a battlefield in Ukraine, we must modernize and rever our capabilities, ”he added.
Berlin wall memory
In its presentation, the Premier He reiterated his support for kyiv against Mosu. “We must sustain Ukraine because if we do not get durable peace, economic instability and threats to our security will only grow,” he said.
“As a young man, I remember the fall of the Berlin wall. I felt that we were getting rid of the shackles of history, a continent attached to freedom and democracy. If someone had told me then that in my life we would see Russian tanks entering European cities, I would not have believed it, “Starmer said.
“However, here we are, in a world where everything has changed, because three years ago, that is exactly what happened,” he explained to Parliament.
“We must support Ukraine, because if we do not achieve lasting peace, then threats to our security will only increase,” he said.
But Starmer must balance Trump and the United States, his historic ally Transátlantico, which now votes with Russia, Belarus and North Korea in the UN.
“We must reject any false choice between our allies, between one side or the other of the Atlantic. That goes against our history, our country and our party because it goes against our fundamental national interest, ”Starmer told the House of Commons.
“The United States is our most important bilateral alliance. It covers everything: from nuclear technology to NATO, through Five Eyes, Aukus and beyond. Therefore, this week, when he meets me with President Trump, I will be clear: I want this relationship to strengthen more and more, ”he explained.
The greatest expense from the Cold War
The government will begin The greatest sustained increase in defense spending since the end of the Cold War And long earlier than expected. British military forces were only operational for only six months of war in the current budgetary state, in an unfortunate state.
This will mean spending 13,400 million additional pounds in defense every year from 2027.
Taking into account the spending on intelligence and security services, defense expenditure will be 2.6% of GDP from 2027. It has a “clear ambition” to take it to 3% in the next Parliament, when Donald Trump announced that he will not finance European security expenses in NATO.
The 2.6% increase in British defense expenses means A brutal trim to aid in war impoverished by war As Sudan, where millions are starving, gaza and Congo.
“More people will die,” NGO warns. Benefit organizations condemn the “really catastrophic” aid cuts.
“Today’s cut will divert funds for some of the most devastating humanitarian crises in the world. It will mean less support for the enormous number of people suffering in Gaza and Lebanon. It will mean less for the millions of people affected by conflict and hunger in Sudan. It will mean less for girls affected by poverty, violence and crises worldwide, ”said Christine Allen, executive director of CAFOD (Catholic Agency for Development abroad)
Help budget cuts will not be enough to bring 3% defense spending on GDP, said Think Tank IFS (Institution for Prosecutor Studies).
European nuclear shield
France is ready to display a “nuclear shield” to help protect Europe of any imminent Russian threat. It could be discussed at the European Security meeting in London, next Sunday.
President Emmanuel Macron is leading the way to help protect the continent after having had “productive” conversations with Donald Trump about the end of the war in Ukraine.
Macron He suggested that a truce could be agreed between kyiv and Moscow in a matter of weeks, When he spoke with Fox News after the talk with Trump.
Macron has also proposed the idea of sending combat planes with nuclear weapons to Germany. Dysmasion would act as a hard warning to Vladimir Putin, said a French official.