NATO member states have agreed on what portion of their defense budget they should spend on things like air defense and weapons. Countries should invest more in defense in any case. NATO chief Mark Rutte wants to present plans for this in The Hague.
That’s what Rutte said after a meeting with 32 defense ministers from the alliance in Brussels. He did not go into details about the new so-called capacity goals. The NATO chief said there is “broad support” for the plan.
Under that plan, the NATO standard is being increased from 2 to 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). To make that more appealing, the expenses are split. Of that, 3.5 percent is intended for concrete defense investments, such as weapons. The remaining 1.5 percent goes to “defense-related matters” such as cybersecurity and infrastructure.
A multi-billion dollar investment in defense becomes more bearable if countries can also put the money into, for example, highways, is the idea. Also, the amount does not have to be in the books this year. With a ‘growth path’ countries can build up their spending in steps.
Rutte emphasized that his proposal applies to all allies, including the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump is the most fanatical driver of the 5 percent standard. But the U.S. currently spends 3.4 percent on defense.
