Posted on 02/15/2025 2:08:46 PM PST by marcusmaximus
NATO members will have to bolster their defense spending by “considerably more than 3%” of their GDP, the alliance’s Secretary General Mark Rutte said Saturday.
The alliance chief’s warning came just days after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth tore into NATO allies as failing to “take primary responsibility” for Europe’s defense and called for a minimum GDP spending target of 5%.
That amount is a drastic boost from the current 2% mark members pledged to meet more than a decade ago — an amount no member has ever reached, according to CNBC.
“Over the next couple of months we will get convergence” on the budget goal, Rutte told Politico during an interview panel hosted on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. He added the members “will have to prioritize defense over other stuff,” referring to social welfare programs, to reach beefed up defense spending targets.
NATO’s 32 members will come to an agreement on the new defense spending objectives when they meet for a June summit in the Hague, Netherlands, Rutte said.
Rutte, however, insisted that Washington still is committed to the alliance despite Hegseth’s warning that European allies can’t rely on America’s presence “forever.”
He noted the United States’ GDP makes up 50% of the alliance’s GDP, making it “an American organization,” and insisted the country had “a clear commitment to NATO.”
The secretary general, however, offered some tough advice to members amid the United States’ more hostile tenor toward the alliance during a second Trump administration.
“Get into the debate, not by complaining … but by coming up with concrete ideas,” he said at the conference, CNBC reported.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Trump’s point all along.
Another win for Trump.
Carrot. Stick. Boot.
LOL! That will be interesting since most of them never even complied with the 2% of their GDP agreement they made in 2014.
NATO members outside the US: No Action, Talk Only
I’ll believe it when I see it from perpetual freeloaders like Germany.
They should have been doing that in years past, not just talking about doing it in 2025.
I’ll believe when I see it. The euros generally say whatever it takes to get them through their latest crisis.
This could get interesting since the UK, for example, has more admirals than fighting ships or, one admiral for every 800 sailors.
Not kidding.
Anyone else wondering if our Deep State has been laundering American taxpayer money to the EU to help them keep their welfare states afloat...?
I include the UK in that question since it Brexited in name only.
Not true, though it was just a few years ago. Only 8 of 32 NATO members failed to meet the 2% goal as of last year. One of the worst offenders is Canada, the largest economy in NATO to fail to meet the 2% goal and the most dependent on both the US economy and US defense. Italy and Spain are also on the low end, with the rest being smaller GDP countries.
Poland is the only country in NATO spending more than 4%, and other than Poland and the 3 Baltic countries bordering Russia/Belarus, no European NATO member is spending over 2.5%. They need to be at 3+ if they want to have a force capable of deterring Russia. Europe also needs their own nuclear deterrence. What they currently have is far too limited.
Only 8? After 10 years? What a record.
Germany: Largest economy in Europe
United Kingdom: Second largest economy
France: Third largest economy
Italy: Fourth largest economy
Spain: Fifth largest economy
If you get the top 5 at 4%, the problem is solved.
But it will never happen. It’s like they have a suicide pact.
They have been welfare queens by off loading their own security onto us for many years now.
They just like depending on U.S. taxpayers to protect their asses.
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