NATO Summit

Philip Davies Excerpts

Thursday 13th July 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I think the people of Ukraine received a very strong signal of support from the NATO alliance over the past couple of days. That is what President Zelensky believes and it is what he is taking back to his country. He called it a significant security victory. The signature of the multilateral agreement on security guarantees by the G7 represents near-term, immediate support for Ukraine’s security from the G7 allies. I am highly confident that others will join that declaration, too, giving the Ukrainian people some assurance and security, which they rightly deserve.

[Philip Davies (Shipley) (Con)]

I commend the Prime Minister for his leading role at the NATO summit, and I very much support his statement. In the statement, he said:

“All allies made an enduring commitment to invest at least 2% of GDP.”

Many countries have been making that promise for many years and never actually fulfilling it. They want the protection of NATO but are not paying their fair share towards it, and are instead relying on the UK taxpayer and, more importantly, the US taxpayer to foot the bill. What more can be done to ensure that every country in NATO, if they want the protection of NATO, pays its fair share?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point, and I agree wholeheartedly. It is why we fought hard for the new defence investment pledge to set 2% as an enduring commitment and as a floor, not a ceiling. Progress has been made. If he looks at the statistics over the past couple of years in particular, he will see an increase not just in the volume of defence spending across the alliance, but in the number of countries that are meeting 2%. That is forecast to be potentially as high as two thirds of all members next year, which would represent a landmark achievement. He is right that we must keep the pressure on and urge everyone to fulfil their 2% commitment.