NATO Secretary General Urges Europe to Increase Defense Spending as Trump Returns to the White House

(CLO) On December 4, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte led a new initiative to push European countries to increase defense spending to protect themselves, in the context of Donald Trump's upcoming return to the White House and his declaration that he would not support countries that buy less weapons.

After Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula a decade ago, NATO leaders agreed to stop cutting defense budgets and pledged to spend 2% of GDP on the military .

But since the Russia-Ukraine conflict erupted nearly three years ago, NATO leaders have decided that 2% is not a ceiling but a floor for defense spending. While U.S. allies have hit that target on average, about a third of members have fallen short.

Mr Trump, who is set to take office as US president in January, has threatened not to defend countries that “violate” their commitments, undermining confidence in the US’ ability to defend low-spending NATO allies in his next term.

“If you want to maintain the current deterrence, 2% is not enough,” Mr Rutte said after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels. “We can defend ourselves now and no one should attack us, but I want that to remain the case in the next four or five years.”

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks during a press conference at NATO headquarters on December 4. Photo: AP

In July, US President Joe Biden and NATO partners approved the biggest change yet aimed at protecting all 32 NATO members.

Under the new plan, NATO would have up to 300,000 troops ready to move to the eastern flank within 30 days. The plans spell out which allies would respond to an attack from the Arctic and Baltic Sea across the Atlantic and east to the Black Sea.

However, NATO officials have acknowledged that countries may have to spend up to 3% of GDP to make the plan a success, and a new spending target could be announced next year. Mr Rutte also said NATO may set detailed targets for member states to fill gaps in military equipment.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy stressed that "the time for action is now". He called on NATO allies to get serious about defense spending.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during a recent visit to Brussels, called on allies to “act together” rather than back down. He stressed that a stronger NATO would have more capacity to deal with complex challenges while ensuring peace and stability for member states.

Mr Rutte also stressed the need to expand Europe's defence industry, encouraging companies to produce more military equipment and hire more people, as Western support for Ukraine is depleting its arsenal.

“We are producing too little at too high a cost and delivering too slowly,” he said. “We cannot let this continue.”

NATO's secretary general also called on countries to work closely to speed up production and reduce costs, as some countries are having to buy military equipment from South Korea because European defense companies cannot produce it fast enough.

Hoai Phuong (according to AP)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/tong-thu-ky-nato-keu-goi-chau-au-tang-chi-tieu-quoc-phong-de-tranh-phu-thuoc-vao-my-post324249.html