EU defense spending burden must be shared better: French finance... > 자유게시판

BRUSSELS, Feb 17 (Reuters) -

European countries need to do a better job of sharing the burden of financing defense, French Finance Minister Eric Lombard said on Monday amid calls for Europe to boost defense spending.

If European Union countries want to be serious about seeking strategic autonomy, rynki finansowe they need first to increase their defense spending, Lombard told journalists.

"France is doing part of the job and we would like that this effort should be shared more equally among member states," he said as he arrived for a meeting with euro area counterparts.

With an annual defense budget of about 60 billion euros ($63 billion), France spends 2% of its gross domestic product on defense in line with the NATO guidelines.

Croatia, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovenia and Spain all spend less than the 2% target, according to NATO data.

($1 = 0.9549 euros) (Reporting by Thomas Leigh; Editing by Makini Brice and Sharon Singleton)