Top EU defense official says some NATO countries eyeing higher defense spending target

BRUSSELS — Some European NATO member countries are calling for the alliances’s defense spending target to be raised to 3 percent of GDP from the current 2 percent, the EU’s top defense official said Tuesday.

“When the NATO allies are increasing their budget to at least 2 percent of GDP, some people speak about 3 percent already,” Timo Pesonen, the European Commission’s director general for defense industry, said at a European Policy Centre think tank event.

The pressure to boost spending comes as Ukraine’s defensive war against Russia drags into its third year.