Bloomberg reported on NATO's plans to require the EU and Canada to increase the armed forces by 30%

NATO plans to ask the EU and Canada to increase their stocks of weapons and equipment by about 30% in the coming years. This was reported by Bloomberg on Friday, March 21.

Reaching these new levels will require huge financial efforts from most European allies and Canada, while U.S. spending will not have to change, officials said.

"The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is responding to the growing threat from Russia, as well as to President Donald Trump's desire to shift most of the burden of defense from the United States to the rest of the alliance," the material says.

It clarifies that the new goals, which will take from five to 15 years to achieve, will lead to a significant strengthening of European and Canadian forces within NATO, which will be less dependent on the United States.

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NBC News reported on March 6 that US President Donald Trump is considering changing the format of US participation in NATO. It was noted that this would mean a significant departure from the basic principle of the alliance. Later, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that Washington would not withdraw from the military bloc.

In January, Trump stated that he was not sure whether it was worth continuing to sponsor NATO, since the United States protects the members of the bloc, but does not receive assistance in return. He noted that he would seek to ensure that the states of the North Atlantic Alliance increased defense spending to 5% of GDP.