Mark Rutte. Photo: Bloomberg via Getty Images
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has called on US President-elect Donald Trump to consider liberalising European allies’ access to US defence systems. In an interview with dpa , Rutte noted that European countries are already investing hundreds of billions of dollars in the US defence industry, but complex bureaucratic procedures make it difficult to purchase systems such as the Patriot air defence system.
“One Patriot system costs two billion dollars. This is a huge amount of money for the United States and its economy,” Rutte said.
In his opinion, eliminating the need for approval from Congress, the Pentagon and the White House would significantly speed up the delivery of weapons to European allies. Currently, the process of delivering such systems to Europe takes too long, which reduces NATO’s responsiveness to new challenges.
Mark Rutte’s initiative coincides with Donald Trump’s increasingly tough stance on allied defence spending. In his recent statements, Trump has called on NATO member states to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP, well above the current target of 2%.
In the past, Trump has repeatedly criticised European partners for underfunding defence, accusing them of being dependent on US protection. During his first presidential term, he even threatened to withdraw the United States from the Alliance if his demands were not met.
Mark Rutte is expected to comment on these issues in more detail on Thursday during a press conference.
European partners, in particular, have expressed interest in deepening defence cooperation with the United States to ensure faster access to key technologies and strengthen joint defence capabilities in the face of new threats.
