NATO director requests great army spending spike
(MENAFN) NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte plans to urge all alliance members to significantly raise their military spending to 5% of their GDP at the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague this June.
Rutte, who has previously advocated cutting social programs to boost defense budgets, echoed the stance of US President Donald Trump, who has been pressuring European NATO members to contribute more to collective defense. According to recent NATO data, ten of the bloc's 32 countries still fall short of the current 2% GDP defense spending benchmark, while the US continues to be the largest contributor by far.
At a press briefing following a NATO defense ministers’ meeting in Brussels, Rutte outlined new defense capability goals, including investments in air defense, fighter jets, tanks, drones, logistics, and personnel. To meet these objectives, he proposed an overall spending target of 5% of GDP. Under this plan, 3.5% would be allocated to core defense costs, with an additional 1.5% for related infrastructure and industrial investments.
Rutte noted that member states would be required to submit annual progress reports to demonstrate consistent increases in defense spending until they hit the 5% goal.
Earlier reports from Germany's Der Spiegel suggested that US ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, warned allies that President Trump might skip the June summit if nations don't commit to the new spending target. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also emphasized in April that NATO only remains relevant if all members share the defense burden fairly. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth added that the US would no longer serve as the sole provider of European security.
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