NATO chief says members will need to spend more on defense, gives no specific figure

VILNIUS - NATO members will have to commit to spending more on defense at the upcoming meeting in The Hague, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says, without giving a specific figure.

"We are focusing on defense spending. (...) We know that Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran are working together, and Russia has been a long-time threat to NATO. Is it crucial that in The Hague, when it comes to spending and when it comes to industrial production, we take necessary decisions," the NATO chief said in Vilnius on Monday as he arrived to attend a summit of the leaders from NATO's eastern and Nordic member countries.

NO SPECIFIC NUMBER

With the United States pressing allies to allocate 5 percent of their GDP to defense, diplomats say NATO countries will seek to agree on this commitment by splitting it into two parts at the upcoming summit in The Hague later in June.

The proposal is to increase defense funding alone to 3.5 percent of GDP and to allocate a further 1.5 percent of GDP to defense-related needs such as the development of dual-use infrastructure.

Rutte did not specify what percentage of GDP NATO countries should commit to.

"This is something that we are discussing now among allies. I am not mentioning numbers now, but I can assure you that 2 percent, which we agreed on in 2014, is not nearly enough. (...) It will be considerably more than 2 percent," he said.

In addition to "hard" defense funding for military needs, the Vilnius meeting will also discuss defense-related spending, such as funding for military mobility and defense industry, according to the NATO chief.

As BNS reported earlier, the Vilnius meeting is aimed at aligning regional positions ahead of NATO's summit in The Hague.

According to Rutte, NATO defense ministers will meet later this week in Brussels to discuss the need for new capabilities, which is directly linked to the approved defense plans.

"To do that, it is clear that allies need to spend much, much, much more than we are doing now," the NATO chief said, adding that The Hague Summit will send two key messages.

"When we look at the key messages, I think it is this: spending more and producing more. (...) I'm confident that with your support, we will make NATO a stronger, fairer, and more lethal alliance to keep us safe for decades to come," Rutte said, addressing leaders in Vilnius.

ALLIED BACKING

Leaders in Vilnius have expressed their support for plans to increase defense funding.

"I hope that in The Hague we will agree that we have to spend 3.5 percent directly on military needs and a further 1.5 percent on deterrence in a broader sense," Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told reporters in Vilnius.

Although discussions that this commitment could be achieved by 2032 are ongoing, the Danish leader says allies should spend more on defense earlier.

"If you ask me, it will be too late (in 2032 - BNS)," Frederiksen said.

Her view is echoed by Slovak President Peter Pellegrini. In his words, Bratislava supports the bid to increase defense funding through the 3.5-1.5 percent of GDP formula, but, he added, allied members will need to discuss the pace and possible flexibility to achieve this commitment.

"We have an important meeting in The Hague (...) I think this is a critical moment when we see a new geopolitical situation in the world, and it is critical that Europe should take on a greater share of its own security commitments," Pellegrini said.

US President Donald Trump has for some time been urging allies to more than double their defense spending commitments up to 5 percent of GDP.

NATO members are currently committed to spending 2 percent of GDP on defense, although not all of them have yet reached that target.

The Vilnius Summit aims to agree on a 5 percent of GDP defense target without further specifying or breaking down the commitment into sub-components.

So far, the Baltic countries and Poland have publicly announced plans to spend 5 percent of GDP or more on defense.