The pathway to NATO’s ‘2/20’ goal is through real growth of defense spending

For the past nine years, NATO has followed a defense spending guideline seeking member expenditures at 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and equipment spending at 20 percent of defense spending by calendar year 2024. What came to be known as the “2/20” guideline was issued at NATO’s Wales Summit in September 2014, shortly after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in March of that year. The summit declaration explained the renewed focus on capabilities: “Russia’s aggressive actions against Ukraine have fundamentally challenged our vision of a Europe whole, free, and at peace.”

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