One would have imagined that the Greek government would have taken a
sledgehammer to the defense budget back in 2009 when the debt crisis
first took hold of this small country in the south east of Europe.
But no.
One would have thought too that the European Union and NATO might have used the euro crisis as an ideal opportunity to encourage countries to share defense equipment and cut back on wasteless duplication.
But no.
Greece went on a buying spree, purchasing submarines, fighter jets, and tanks from Germany and France. Not that they needed them. The region was stable. In 2009, almost 28 percent of its then €10 billion budget was spent on military equipment—higher than in the United States or any other NATO country.
Greece’s defense budget was 3.2 percent of gross domestic product. What a luxury for the Greek military establishment.
Some cuts were made during 2010 and again last year. Salaries for the 136,000 army personnel have been reduced and the shopping spree has come to an end.
Remarkably, however, Greek defense spending still accounts for 2.1 percent of gross domestic product, according to NATO. After the United States, Greece is the second biggest defense spender among the 27 NATO countries in relation to its GDP. That is astonishing for a country in a deep economic crisis.
Read more: http://carnegieeurope.eu/strategiceurope/?fa=49185
But no.
One would have thought too that the European Union and NATO might have used the euro crisis as an ideal opportunity to encourage countries to share defense equipment and cut back on wasteless duplication.
But no.
Greece went on a buying spree, purchasing submarines, fighter jets, and tanks from Germany and France. Not that they needed them. The region was stable. In 2009, almost 28 percent of its then €10 billion budget was spent on military equipment—higher than in the United States or any other NATO country.
Greece’s defense budget was 3.2 percent of gross domestic product. What a luxury for the Greek military establishment.
Some cuts were made during 2010 and again last year. Salaries for the 136,000 army personnel have been reduced and the shopping spree has come to an end.
Remarkably, however, Greek defense spending still accounts for 2.1 percent of gross domestic product, according to NATO. After the United States, Greece is the second biggest defense spender among the 27 NATO countries in relation to its GDP. That is astonishing for a country in a deep economic crisis.
Read more: http://carnegieeurope.eu/strategiceurope/?fa=49185
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