Poland's Duda calls for 3% of GDP defence spending target for NATO

NATO members should be required to commit themselves to spend 3% of national gross domestic product (GDP) on defence, rather than aiming for the current 2% target, President Andrzej Duda told Poland's National Security Council in Warsaw on Monday.

Duda said he would propose this when he meets President Joe Biden in Washington on Tuesday.

The 3% target should be the lower limit that should be met under all conditions, Duda said.

The current NATO defence spending target requires that members should invest at least 2% of GDP annually over the long term. It was agreed last summer in the face of a perceived threat from Russia.

The previous target required member countries to approach the 2% target by 2024.

Duda and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk are to meet Biden on Tuesday on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Poland's accession to NATO.

Poland is a close ally of the United States and is one of Ukraine's staunchest backers in its war with Russia. The EU country sees itself as threatened by Russia and is rearming by investing large sums in its military.

According to NATO figures, Warsaw invested 3.9% of GDP in defence last year.