LONDON (Reuters) -NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will use a speech in London on Monday to say the military alliance needs a 400% increase in air and missile defence, one of the priorities for a summit of members in the Hague later this month.
Rutte is pushing for members to boost defence spending to 3.5% of GDP and commit a further 1.5% to broader security-related spending to meet U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand for a 5% target. Last month, he said he assumed that target would be agreed at the summit on June 24-25.
Rutte will argue in a speech at London’s Chatham House think tank that for NATO to maintain credible deterrence and defence, it needs “a 400% increase in air and missile defence”.
“We see in Ukraine how Russia delivers terror from above, so we will strengthen the shield that protects our skies,” he will say, according to extracts of his speech provided by his office.
“The fact is, we need a quantum leap in our collective defence. The fact is, we must have more forces and capabilities to implement our defence plans in full. The fact is, danger will not disappear even when the war in Ukraine ends.”
With little let up in fighting in Russia’s war against Ukraine despite ceasefire calls, European countries are under pressure to raise defence spending after Trump signalled a shift in policy, pushing for the region to better protect itself.
Several countries say they are doing so, with Britain pledging an increase from 2.3% to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 and 3% of GDP at a later date. Germany has said it will need roughly 50,000 to 60,000 additional active soldiers under new NATO targets.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; editing by Sarah Young)
