NATO's Rutte Supports Trump's Call for Europe to Boost Defense Spending

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte expressed confidence that NATO countries will begin spending more than 2% of their GDP on defense, emphasizing that he fully agrees with Donald Trump’s criticism of Europe on this issue.

This was reported by a correspondent of European Pravda, citing Rutte’s statement while speaking to the media ahead of the European Political Community  meeting in Budapest on November 7.

“He pushed us toward (defense spending) exceeding 2% of GDP. Now, in part thanks to him, NATO [...] is spending more than 2%. And we know we must do even more,” Rutte stated.

He noted that in his meeting with European leaders, and in future discussions with Trump, he aims to thoroughly address the response to North Korea’s involvement in Russia’s war against Ukraine and the broader deepening of cooperation between Russia, North Korea, Iran, and China, which could, in the long term, heighten direct threats to NATO members, including the US.

"Of course, part of that is the point that the 'European' part of NATO has to spend more to ensure that we meet our capability goals," Rutte added.

NATO Secretary General stressed that appropriate defense spending should definitely be more than 2%, "It will definitely be much more than 2%, I am absolutely clear about this."

He went on to suggest that the principle of investment could be discussed with member countries, focusing, for instance, on providing specific capabilities for individual countries rather than adhering to a fixed GDP spending target. 

“But Trump is absolutely right, we won’t achieve the desired outcome with just 2%,” Rutte added.

Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have urged the European Union to pursue stronger, more coordinated cooperation following Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election.