Army automobiles are seen throughout a army parade commemorating the Greek Independence Day in Athens, Greece, on March 25, 2025.
Marios Lolos | Xinhua Information Company | Getty Photos
Solar-soaked Greece might not instantly come to thoughts as a high protection spender — however solely 4 NATO allies spent a much bigger slice of their GDP on safety than the Mediterranean nation final 12 months.
Along with the U.S., NATO estimates present that tally contains Poland, Latvia and Estonia, which ramped up their protection expenditures in response to Russian aggression in recent times.
Greece has in the meantime constantly been a giant protection spender, spending round 3.1% of its GDP on protection in 2024.
On the core of Athens’ protection spending motivations is its tense and fractious relationship with fellow NATO ally Turkey.
Tensions with Turkey
Greece and Turkey have “numerous historic baggage,” Jacob Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at Bruegel, advised CNBC.
Tensions between the 2 nations date again a number of hundred years and embrace conflict, the displacement of over 1 million individuals, clashes over controlling Cyprus, and a powerful geographical component resulting from Greece’s many islands, he stated.
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