NATO countries should start spending more than 2 percent of GDP on defence, alliance Secretary General Mark Rutte said ahead of a meeting of EU defence ministers on 19 November.
‘It is good that we have reached 2% [of GDP spending on defence] on the European side of NATO as a whole. But it is not enough. It is clearly not enough. So we also need to make sure that we spend more,’ he said in Brussels at a press approach, a transcript of which is published on NATO’s website.
Rutte also called for increased efforts in the defence industry. He said the alliance is working closely with the EU to strengthen the defence industrial complex ‘in the coming months.’
The day before, Rutte thanked Romania for investing more than 2% of its GDP in defence. He also noted that the Romanian side hosts a NATO multinational battlegroup and provides troops for the alliance’s missions.
Prior to that, on November 7, the alliance secretary general promised that in the future NATO countries would spend more than 2% of GDP on defence, as demanded by US President Donald Trump, who won the US election. Rutte suggested a discussion on whether the new goal would be universal or different depending on the capabilities of each country.
https://iz.ru/1793216/2024-11-19/riutte-prizval-strany-nato-tratit-na-oboronu-bolshe-2-vvp
