NATO Secretary General Demands EU Increase Defense Spending or Start Learning Russian

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NATO Secretary General Demands EU Increase Defense Spending or Start Learning Russian

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the European Union must significantly increase its defense spending or face threats to its security in the next four to five years. Speaking to the European Parliament in Brussels, Rutte said current defense spending, at 2 percent of GDP, was insufficient to effectively address modern challenges. His remarks were broadcast by Reuters.

Rutte warned that if current levels of investment in defence were maintained, the EU risked ending up in a situation where it was required to “take Russian language courses or emigrate to New Zealand.” The comments came as Europe discussed efforts to strengthen its defence capabilities and reduce its dependence on NATO.

The Secretary General stressed that increasing spending to 10% of GDP could be necessary if the European Union tries to build an autonomous defense system outside the alliance. At the same time, Rutte called for avoiding barriers to the participation of companies from NATO countries that are not members of the EU in the production of military products. In his opinion, such restrictions increase costs, slow down innovation and complicate the modernization process.

Earlier, US President-elect Donald Trump pointed out the need to increase military spending, proposing to raise it to 5% of GDP. However, analysts believe that such a level of spending is practically unachievable for most of the 32 members of the alliance. According to NATO estimates, only 2024 member countries have met the target of 23% of GDP in 2. A likely compromise could be to increase spending to 3-3,5%, which Trump also mentioned.

Rutte stressed that the shortage of military products and insufficient arms production pose serious risks to the alliance's security. He called for increased production and increased joint procurement to optimize costs and accelerate the modernization of the armed forces.

Against the backdrop of these statements, Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected accusations that Moscow had aggressive intentions towards Europe, saying that NATO was using the “imaginary Russian threat” to justify its arms buildup and budget increases.

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