“The Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance, Mark Rutte, in a conversation with MEPs, emphasized that he considers defense spending at the level of 2% insufficient to ensure that the allies are safe in 4-5 years.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
The Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance, Mark Rutte, in a conversation with MEPs, emphasized that he considers defense spending at the level of 2% insufficient to ensure that the allies are safe in 4-5 years.
Source: Rutte during the meeting of the committee of the European Parliament on January 13, “European Truth” quotes
Details: NATO Secretary General noted that he is very concerned about the security situation in Europe. “We are not in a state of war, but we are not in a state of peace either,” he said.
Rütte stressed that in order to protect their people and their way of life, allies must urgently invest more in defense and defense production and process efficiency, as well as increase the resilience of their societies and critical infrastructure.
He welcomed the fact that many countries had reached a defense spending target of 2% in 2024, but noted that this was no longer enough.
“In order for us to be safe in the coming years, the Allies will have to spend much more than 2%… More spending on defense means less spending on other priorities. But our future may very much depend on it,” he emphasized.
“2% is no longer enough. We are safe now, but we won’t be safe in 4-5 years. If we don’t do this, we will have to get Russian language textbooks or go to New Zealand,” the NATO Secretary General half-jokingly said.
What preceded: Rutte said it was time for allies to think about defense spending above 2% of GDP regardless of the “Trump factor” because the current level of spending in the future will not be enough to feel safe.
US President-elect Donald Trump has confirmed that he considers it necessary for NATO members to spend 5% of their GDP on defense.