The British Government has announced a reinforcement of 15 billion pounds additional funds (about 17.4 billion euros) for the defense budget in the next four years. An increase that seeks to meet the military spending objectives set by the prime minister, Keir Starmerand that will allow reaching the 2.7% of GDP in 2029. Starmer wanted to end the controversy over the increase in military spending before the NATO summit on July 7 and a few weeks after his departure from Downing Street, although some senior military commanders They continue to consider that investments in defense are insufficient to confront growing threats on the global stage.
He Defense Investment Planpresented this Tuesday after months of delays, foresees a total investment of 340,000 million euros in the next four years. One of the main novelties is the spending allocated to drones —equivalent to 5.8 billion euros— and the transformation of the Army into a “hybrid” forcewith the construction of autonomous systems and with the adaptation of their military capabilities to the new technological era. Transformations that are already being seen in Ukraine and that, according to Starmer, have shown that the ability to innovate and integrate Artificial Intelligence in the armed forces is “more vital than ever”.
global rearmament
“The paradox of peace is that, when the world is arming itself and aggression is increasingthe best way to avoid war is to prepare for it. The best way to defend yourself is to deter. “Having the necessary strength to make your opponents think twice before acting, and that is precisely what we are doing,” he assured. Starmer in the presentation of the plan, in a message addressed to Russia. “Putin will not stop in Ukraine, but will turn its gaze towards other allies”, he warned.
The prime minister wanted to put an end to the controversy on the funding of the British Army, an issue that has caused a significant headache for the Government in recent months. The difficulties for finance increased military spending without going to the debt market has caused huge internal tensions and even led to the resignation of John Healey as defense minister earlier this month.
Senior military commanders indicated in early January that an additional disbursement of 28 billion pounds to execute the planned plans, a figure impossible for the Ministry of Economy to assume. Finally, the Government has managed to increase this expenditure by 15,000 million thanks to the important budget cuts from other ministries and cancellation of energy projects and of infrastructure. “This is about making the necessary decisions, the right decisions, to protect our nation,” Starmer said.
long term goal
There are still doubts about how the UK will meet its commitment to achieve a 3.5% of defense spending in 2035 —5% if others related to national security and resilience are added—as agreed by NATO members last year. Starmer has assured that the disbursement announced this Tuesday places the country on the path to reaching the 3% from 2030but experts warn that new cuts in other items in the future to finance the Army.
From now on the focus will be on Andy Burnhamthe frontrunner to replace Starmer as prime minister in the coming weeks. His allies assure that he agrees with the decisions announced this Tuesday by the still Labor leader, but for now They have avoided giving details about what additional measures it intends to adopt once the replacement is confirmed or how it intends to pay for them. Burnham’s commitment to respect the fiscal rules set by the current Government will give her little room for maneuver and threatens to cause new tensions in Labor ranks in the coming months.
Subscribe to continue reading
