Pence insists on higher defense budget Europa

NATO countries have this year real progress in increasing their defense spending.

The 28 NATO countries have pledged to spend in 2024, 2 percent of their national income on defense. Trump finds it very important that Member States fulfill commitments they have made themselves, says Pence. US Defense Secretary James Mattis said last week something similar.

' The time for our allies to take steps has come, '' Pence put it. The patience of the American people is not infinite, he added.

Stoltenberg said he expected that all countries fulfill their promises and that all steps are put in the right direction. ' But there is still a long way. ''