And not quite. It is an accounting metric. How and where that money is used is a different matter.
For instance: We could LABEL the outlays for a contingent of troops stationed in Germany as costs to NATO, OCCUPATION, or something else.
And there are ways to relabel outlays onto NATO to argue meeting the 2% or 5% threshold. For instance, it would not surprise me if EU/NATO countries involved in the Ukraine war try to sell their "solidarity" as a NATO outlay.
True.
And not quite. It is an accounting metric. How and where that money is used is a different matter.
For instance: We could LABEL the outlays for a contingent of troops stationed in Germany as costs to NATO, OCCUPATION, or something else.
And there are ways to relabel outlays onto NATO to argue meeting the 2% or 5% threshold. For instance, it would not surprise me if EU/NATO countries involved in the Ukraine war try to sell their "solidarity" as a NATO outlay.
Bookkeeping is a rather talmudic exercise.
Yes. Good reason non bookkeepers need to examine fungible funds (grin).