“It’s thanks to Trump if Italy and Spain spend more on defense”: Rutte’s words on the eve of the NATO summit

“What we are witnessing is a NATO that is actually changing in a transformative sense. NATO of just 3, 4 or 5 years ago was not sustainable“, declared Rutte. “It is not sustainable to ask a country with 350 million inhabitants living an eight-hour flight from here to defend us from the Russians, with 600 million people living in this part of NATO territory.”

“It is unsustainable that the richest part of the world is so overly dependent on the United States“, he added, explaining that “it is necessary to rebalance the situation”, with the US continuing to guarantee “the nuclear umbrella” and decisive conventional support, while “a stronger role for Europe, with a greater commitment also from Canada, is important”. “Otherwise the Alliance, to be honest, probably would not have been sustainable in the long term. Now we are creating a sustainable Alliance, where the United States knows it is on an equitable footing. We are spending as much as them, taking on greater responsibility for the conventional defense of Europe: a stronger Europe, a stronger NATO.”

On the military spending front, Rutte recognized the weight of the Trump administration: if countries like Italy and Spain are increasing defense spending, it is also because of the Donald Trump “factor”. “I think the United States is strongly encouraging, and that’s probably a bit of a weak term, allies to reach 5% of GDP for defense and security spending.” According to the secretary general, “it is of great help that the American president is committing himself in this sense”.

Rutte then Italy and Spain were also mentioned among the countries that have increased investments in defense: “If we look at last year, countries like Spain, Italy, Belgium and Canada all reached 2%. Of course, it was thanks to Russia and Ukraine. But maybe there was also, to a small extent, the Trump factor. And I commend him for it” Then he added: “He is the first since Eisenhower who is keeping this promise,” referring to the goal of convincing European allies to share more of the defense burden.

Looking ahead to the Ankara summit, Rutte said he was confident about the new spending targets: “I expect nations to present clear, concrete and credible plans to reach the 5% target.” And he claimed the results already obtained: “Just one year after the start of a ten-year project, we see that the European allies and Canada are already investing around 4% of their GDP in defense and security”.

Finally, the Secretary General underlined that the Alliance will have to transform investments into operational capabilities: “We will need more forces, more resources and a much more solid industrial base.” “The European allies and Canada are now on track to equalize their defense spending with that of the United States” and this demonstrates “a real change in mentality: a stronger Europe in a stronger NATO”.