Estonia boosts defence spending

Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur has said that his country's military spending will be about 4% of the national GDP from 2026.

"Estonia will spend about 4% of GDP on defense from 2026. We have recently agreed on a new 'security tax' that will be contributed, with some exceptions, by every taxpayer," Pevkur said, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

"It is clear that already very soon it will not be enough for all NATO countries to invest only 2% of GDP in defense.

"If we are serious about what NATO's new defense plans require of all members and what military capacities will be needed in the future, then NATO's previous target [for defense spending of] 2%, which was set in 2014, is irrelevant," the Estonian minister said. "This is reality, whether we like it or not," he added.