NATO States to Raise Defense Spending by 4.3 Percent

On Wednesday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced that NATO's European allies and Canada will increase defence spending by 4.3 percent – marking a cumulative $46 billion jump since cuts stopped in 2014.

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"To keep our nations safe, we need to keep working to increase defence spending and fairer burden-sharing across our alliance," Stoltenberg said.

The Sec-Gen made the declaration a day before NATO defence ministers are to meet in Brussels to discuss security expenditure, which U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing for.

"After years of decline, in 2015 we saw a real increase in defense spending across European allies and Canada ... this year, we foresee an even greater real increase of 4.3 percent," Stoltenberg said at the news conference.