NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that if the defense spending of Alliance countries does not exceed the established norm of 2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the organization will not be able to effectively protect itself in the next three to five years. He emphasized the need for significant increases in funding to respond to modern threats, particularly from Russia.
This is reported by Business • Media
Rutte pointed out that discussions are ongoing regarding a possible increase of the target from 2% to 3% of GDP in preparation for the upcoming NATO summit scheduled for June. He also noted that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is urging allies to spend even more—up to 5% of GDP.
“This is necessary for NATO to remain an effective and ready-to-act organization,” Rutte concluded.
In light of these events, the Polish government is negotiating with the European Commission regarding the use of 23 billion zlotys (approximately 6.1 billion euros) from the COVID fund to finance defense objectives. The European Commission is expected to make a decision by June 20.
Meanwhile, New Zealand has announced plans to increase defense spending by an additional 5 billion dollars over the next four years, aiming to double spending to 2% of GDP within the next eight years.