Defense Spending: How Much Does Greece Spend on Weapons and Military Needs?

The current debate in Europe revolves around the European Commission’s White Paper proposing an increase in defense spending, aiming to allow member states to spend hundreds of billions of euros on weapons and other military needs. While details of the plan remain unclear, the Commission clarifies that proposals for activating the national escape clause to boost defense spending by up to 1.5% annually focus on expenditures categorized under ‘Defense’ in the Classification of Functions of Government (COFOG). This includes military defense, civil defense, foreign military aid, defense-related research & development, and supportive capabilities but excludes personnel costs. Greece is among the countries spending significantly on defense as a percentage of its GDP. According to NATO data, Greece ranked fifth in 2024 among NATO members for defense spending as a percentage of GDP, at 3.08%. Defense spending has been on an upward trend since 2014 when it was around 2.2%. In 2024, 36.1% of Greece’s defense budget went to equipment procurement, compared to only 8% in 2014. Personnel costs accounted for 55.9%, operational costs for 7.7%, and infrastructure for just 0.3%. The overall trajectory of Greek defense spending remains upward, with projections indicating continued high expenditures in the coming years.