What proposals does NATO chief have in terms of defense expenses to comply with 5% of Trump required GDP target
Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General: Photo: AA / Abaca / Abaca Press / Profimedia
The Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, has proposed to the alliance members to increase the defense expenses to 3.5% of GDP and to allocate another 1.5% for larger security expenses, to meet the request of US President Donald Trump on a target of 5%, AGERPRES has told Reuters.
Rutte's proposal could afford the US President to declare a victory at the NATO Summit in June, without imposing a 5% European nations on European nations, which many consider political and economic.
The current NATO objective in expenditure of at least 2% of GDP is met by 22 of its 32 members. But NATO leaders say that this goal is no longer sufficient, because they see Russia as a much greater threat after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
It has not yet been agreed on the definition of what will be included in the broader category of defense expenses. According to officials, this category could include the costs of modernizing roads and bridges to support the transport of heavy military equipment.
“Additional investments in related fields, such as infrastructure”
Asked if NATO can confirm that Rutte has made this proposal, Allison Hart, NATO's spokesman, did not answer directly. She said Rutte “repeatedly stated that an increase in defense expenses is required to meet the capacity objectives that the allies will soon agree and to ensure a more equitable distribution of tasks between the Allies.”
“This will probably involve not only larger defense investments, according to the agreed NATO definitions, but also additional investments in related fields, such as infrastructure and resilience,” Hart said in an email, writes Reuters on Friday.
“The Secretary General is working in close consultation with allies to prepare decisions in this regard for our Hague summit,” she said.
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