NATO NEEDS 400% INCREASE IN DEFENCE – Chief calls for a ‘quantum leap’ in collective security
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Monday, while in London, the military alliance needs a 400% increase in air and missile defence, one of the priorities for a summit of members in the Hague later this month.
Rutte is pushing for members to boost defence spending to 3.5% of GDP and commit a further 1.5% to broader security-related spending to meet U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand for a 5% target. Last month, he said he assumed that the target would be agreed at the summit on June 24-25.
Rutte said in a speech at London’s Chatham House think tank that for NATO to maintain credible deterrence and defence, it needs “a 400% increase in air and missile defence.”
European countries are under pressure to raise defence spending after Trump signalled a shift in policy, pushing for the region to better protect itself.
Several countries say they are doing so, with Britain pledging an increase from 2.3% to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 and 3% of GDP at a later date. Germany has said it will need roughly 50,000 to 60,000 additional active soldiers under new NATO targets.
