NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will make a speech in London on Monday calling for an unprecedented 400% increase in the Alliance’s air and missile defence systems. Reuters reports this ahead of the NATO summit to be held in The Hague on 24-25 June.
In a speech at the Chatham House think tank, Rutte will emphasise that NATO needs a “leap forward” in defence capabilities to maintain a credible deterrence and defence posture. He will point directly to the war in Ukraine as evidence of how critical it is to strengthen the “shield of the sky” over Europe:
“We see in Ukraine how Russia is sowing terror from the sky. That is why we will strengthen the shield that protects our skies,” he said in a speech released by his office.
Rutte will also support US President Donald Trump ‘s idea to increase the total defence spending of NATO member states to 5% of GDP:
- 3.5% – directly for military defence
- another 1.5% for wider security needs.
The Dutch prime minister suggests that the summit in The Hague will approve this as a new target, replacing the current 2%.
“The reality is that we need a giant leap forward. We need additional forces and capacities to implement our plans. And even after the war in Ukraine is over, the danger will not disappear,” Rutte said.
As the fighting in Ukraine intensifies and the future of US support is uncertain, Europe is under increasing pressure to strengthen its own defence capabilities.
- The UK has already announced a gradual increase in the defence budget to 3% of GDP,
- Germany plans to expand the number of its troops by 50-60 thousand soldiers.
