Mark Rutte, Secretary General of NATO speaks at the pre-summit press conference on Saturday, in Ankara, Turkey.Burak Kara/Getty Images
European NATO allies and Canada have already increased their overall defence spending to around four per cent of their gross domestic product, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Monday.
“Last year, European Allies and Canada spent nearly 20 per cent more on core defence than they had the year before. Looking at 2025 and 2026 combined, that’s US$258-billion dollars in extra investment,” Rutte told reporters on the eve of a summit of NATO leaders in Ankara.
“And the trend continues.”
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At their summit last year, NATO countries agreed to increase overall defence spending to five per cent of GDP by 2035, with 3.5 per cent for core defence investments and a further 1.5 per cent of GDP on security-related items.
“Here in Ankara, I expect nations to present clear, concrete and credible plans to reach that five per cent goal. And the evidence we see so far is impressive,” Rutte said.
“Just one year into a 10-year project, we see that European Allies and Canada are already investing around four per cent of their GDP in defence and security.”
Rutte also said NATO countries will announce “tens of billions of dollars in new contracts” at a forum with defence industry on Tuesday.