Sánchez says Spain is excluded from the 5 percent norm The Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has just claimed in a television address the adapted principle agreement on a final declaration as a success. Sánchez said that Spain will be excluded from the obligation to spend 5 percent of its GDP on defense.
In the speech, the Prime Minister said that that 5 percent norm would be “unnecessary and disproportionate” for Spain. Therefore, the country will spend 2.1 percent of its GDP on defense. According to Sánchez, that is more than enough to meet the NATO requirements regarding equipment and personnel.
Thousands of demonstrators protest against NATO A few thousand demonstrators have come to a protest against NATO today, which took place on the Malieveld in The Hague. The action ended around 6:00 PM after a walk past the Peace Palace a little further in the city. The protest went without major problems.
Many Palestinian flags were also visible at the protest. Demonstrators chanted slogans for the Palestinians and against Israel. There was also attention for the American attack on Iran last night. Participants in the protest spoke out against the attack with banners.
Spain gives in due to adjustment of the text in the final declaration The reason that Spain now agrees with the increased NATO norm of 5 percent is an adjustment of the text in the final declaration that NATO chief Mark Rutte proposed today. Rutte proposed to formulate the text a little more loosely.
Instead of the text “We pledge,” the text “Allies (read: NATO countries) pledge” would now be included in the declaration. In this way, the increase of the NATO norm to 5 percent can be agreed with the consent of all 32 member states.
The adjustment was not the only trick that Rutte used to accommodate the tough demand from the US. Earlier, he had already forged a compromise with Washington by agreeing that of the 5 percent that NATO member states must spend on defense, ‘only’ 3.5 percent needs to be spent on primary defense matters. The remaining 1.5 percent may be invested in supporting matters, such as making bridges tank-resistant, scaling up the arms industry, and better cyber security.
The road closures are intended to transport world leaders, ministers and diplomats safely from Schiphol to The Hague. This happens via the A5, A4, A44 and N44.
In The Hague, a lot of soldiers and police officers are visibly on duty today to secure the city around the NATO summit.
Road closures in Randstad take effect, significant inconvenience expected This afternoon, the first road closures in the Randstad took effect. Road users must now take into account a lot of inconvenience around the NATO summit. The A5, A44, N44 and the N440 are partly or completely closed until Friday, and a lot of inconvenience is also expected on the A4 and N434.
Also regional and local roads in and around The Hague, Wassenaar, Katwijk, Noordwijk, Haarlemmermeer, Leiden and Rotterdam will be partly or completely closed.
The greatest traffic inconvenience will take place from Monday afternoon to Wednesday inclusive. Then, according to Rijkswaterstaat, there is a chance of “very serious traffic inconvenience”. Rijkswaterstaat has “great concerns” about the accessibility of the Randstad during the NATO summit. Road users should take into account a tripling of the normal traffic density during rush hour, according to the road manager.
Schoof expects Trump to come, despite American attack on Iran Outgoing Prime Minister Schoof said today that he still expects the arrival of US President Donald Trump. Last night, the United States carried out bombings of nuclear installations in Iran, which meant a further escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.
The Netherlands has not received a cancellation from Washington, Schoof said earlier today. “I assume that Mr. Trump is still coming,” Schoof said after an emergency meeting of the National Security Council on the attacks on Iran. “At least, we have not received a counter-message.”
Schoof does not want to say whether the summit will be even more heavily secured after the American attack. “A lot of security measures have already been taken around the NATO summit. We permanently scan what is happening in the world, and we are of course doing that today as well.”
NATO countries agree on final declaration The 32 member states of NATO have just agreed on the final declaration that must be signed on Wednesday. Diplomats report this to Reuters and ANP. That declaration must be signed by the NATO countries on Wednesday.
According to insiders, the text of the final declaration has been adjusted in such a way that Spain, which has long been obstructing the increased defense norm, can also agree with it. The increase of that norm to 5 percent is still in place and should be the most important achievement of the summit.