Nato chief says defence spending up despite pandemic

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg yesterday said European allies had increased defence spending in 2020 despite the economic pain inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic.  

"Despite the economic impact of Covid-19 2020 was the sixth consecutive year of increased defense spending across European allies and Canada with an increase in real terms of 3.9 percent," Stoltenberg told a press conference to mark the launch of Nato's annual report.