UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps called on neutral European countries to gain membership in NATO.
Shapps called on non-aligned European countries to join NATO
According to Shapps, his country will support and promote the entry into the Alliance of such non-aligned European states as Ireland, Malta, Austria and Switzerland.
I will make the case for NATO to bring all those who benefit from the alliance’s umbrella of protection into the organisation. Some European countries effectively benefit from NATO coverage, they enjoy the benefits of freedom and liberty, and yet fail to sign up to the Continent’s collective deterrence. Yet when the wolf is at the back door of European security there should be no place for neutrality, Shapps added, pointing to the threat posed by Russia.
How Russia's aggression against Ukraine contributes to the strengthening of NATO
The publication notes that the criminal war unleashed by the Kremlin against Ukraine has sparked discussions in several non-aligned European countries.
It is known that Finland and Sweden did join the alliance in the last two years.
Shapps' comments came as he urged existing NATO members to increase defense spending to 2.5 percent of GDP. The alliance's current target is to spend at least 2 percent of GDP on defence — met by about two-thirds of NATO's 32 members. Britain recently made a promise to hit 2.5 percent by the end of the decade, and Shapps has vowed to press the issue at NATO's 75th anniversary summit in Washington in July, the material authors emphasise.
