"And this year, we expect NATO allies to increase defense spending by more than 8% in new terms," Stoltenberg said at a meeting of the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee and security and defense subcommittee.
Stoltenberg added that Ukrainian crisis has made cooperation between NATO and the European Union even more important.
The NATO head also said that Ukraine has never been closer to the membership in the alliance than now.
"These three things [from the Vilnius summit in July], the interoperability, the networking Council, and removal of the requirements for Membership Action Plan for Ukraine, demonstrate that Ukraine has never been closer to a membership in NATO than now," Stoltenberg said.
Kiev has long been dreaming about NATO membership, yet Western politicians made it clear that Ukraine will not be admitted to the military alliance until the end of hostilities.
Previously political experts told Sputnik that US will never grant Ukraine NATO membership and will simply use this country as “anti-Russian” foothold.
Kremlin officials repeatedly stressed that NATO expansion on the East and Kiev plans to enter US-backed military alliance were one of the reasons the special military operation was launched.