Serious Increase Reported in the Region’s 2024 Military Budgets

Promotional Ceremony for Army of Serbia Junior Officers (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

If the words of a U.S. presidential candidate, Donald Trump, that his country should not defend the NATO members spending less than two percent of GDP on defense, were meant to come true, most Balkan countries would have nothing to worry about, as their defense budgets for 2024 suggest.

The Balkan Security Network portal reported on Feb. 28 that, in that hypothetical situation, s Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania and, to an extent, Montenegro, too, could count on U.S. support, as they have allocated more than two percent of GDP to their military. Bellow the Trump threshold are Slovenia, Croatia and North Macedonia. Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, maintaining a neutral military status, , should not be the subject of potential U.S. defense interests.

For the year 2024, Serbia has allocated $1.47 billion for defense, but President Aleksandar Vucic announced on Jan. 13 that an additional $799 million would be spent to secure more arms for the Serbian Armed Forces this year. "Taking this announcement into account, Serbia plans to allocate $2.27 billion to its defense sector in 2024, accounting for 2.78 percent of GDP. Serbia's estimated GDP for 2024, according to IMF projections, is $81.7 billion," the Balkan Security Network said in the post.