According to the survey, 53 percent of Italians, 47 percent of Germans, and 35 percent of French do not want the defense expenditures to grow.
![Opinions of Europeans split on boosting military sdending in accordance with NATO rules Opinions of Europeans split on boosting military sdending in accordance with NATO rules - Sputnik International](https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/105442/64/1054426414_0:0:843:403_600x0_80_0_0_8512d51f2a3546841069376b38f58d78.png)
At the same time, 44 percent of French, 36 percent of Germans and 31 percent of Italians are in favor of the increase.
In the United Kingdom, which, unlike the other three countries, allocates more than 2 percent of its GDP to defense, 54 percent of respondents supported maintaining military spending at the same level, while 25 percent were against it.
The survey was carried out on April 21-25 among 2,302 respondents, aged 18 and older.
Only a handful of NATO members have reached the 2-percent target as of 2016. The United States is the top spender, allocating over 3.6 percent of its GDP on defense, followed by Greece, the United Kingdom, Estonia and Poland. The remaining 23 members are below target.