Belgium, like the other 31 NATO Member States, is expected to spend 2% of its GDP on defence expenditure this year, according to new figures published by the military alliance overnight from Wednesday to Thursday.
It is the first time since this target was set that Belgium has met it.
All Member States of the organisation, including less successful countries such as Belgium, Canada, Spain, and Italy, will have reached the ambitious target by the end of the year, according to the figures. It took these countries more than 10 years to achieve the target, which was set by NATO in 2014 following Russia's annexation of Crimea.
Poland and Lithuania are the leaders with 4.5% and 4% of GDP, respectively. The United States will spend 3.2% on defence this year.
Under pressure from United States President Donald Trump and due to the Russian threat, NATO countries want to further expand their defence capabilities. In June, a new spending standard of 5% of GDP was established, divided into 3.5% for defence spending and 1.5% for security-related investments such as infrastructure and cybersecurity.
Belgium's Federal Government previously reached an agreement to increase this target from 1.3% to 2% this year. According to NATO figures, the country will increase its defence budget by 57.4% this year.
During the NATO summit in June, Belgium made diplomatic efforts to extend the proposed period for meeting the new standard from seven years to 10 years. A review of the standard is scheduled for 2029.
