TOKYO — Ireland will “significantly” increase defense spending from the current 0.2% of gross domestic product, and the European Union should not overreact to American tariffs, Prime Minister Micheal Martin told Nikkei in an interview here Wednesday.
Ireland is an EU member but has traditionally adopted a neutral security policy and does not belong to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. At a summit in June, NATO set a goal of increasing defense spending and related investments by member countries to 5% of GDP by 2035.
