BRUSSELS, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Driven in part by a climate of tension orchestrated by U.S. President Donald Trump, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel confirmed on Thursday during the NATO summit in Brussels that his country will seek to increase defense spending to 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), but refused to mention any deadline for achieving this goal.
"We have re-confirmed the commitments made at the 2014 NATO Wales summit. This means that a direction exists towards reaching the 2 percent mark," said the PM.
But he added that the issue will be discussed again during legislative sessions with Parliament, the newspaper l'Echo reported.
Despite rumors circulating on Thursday morning that Trump was threatening to leave NATO, Michel maintained that he did not "feel attacked" by the U.S. president, whose obstinacy in securing firm promises from his allies turned the summit upside down but without causing a "crisis".
"On the contrary, President Trump has publicly stated his strong commitment to the strong Atlantic Alliance, with more responsibility from European partners," said Michel.
In 2016, Belgian military and defense spending as a share of GDP stood at less than 1 percent (0.86 percent), according to the World Bank collection of development indicators.
Belgium was among a string of NATO members which confirmed their commitment to gradually increase defense spending to 2 percent of GDP.
However, new information reveals NATO allies have cast doubt on Trump's claim that they had pledged to "substantially" raise their defense budgets, saying they simply remained committed to a 2014 deal.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron also made it clear they had not signed up to anything more than what was agreed four years ago.
