The increased cash is needed to revive a “hollowed out” defense industry that has to ramp up production to meet the military threat from Russia.
“It is true that we spend more on defense now than we did a decade ago,” said Rutte. “But we are still spending far less than during the Cold War. Even though the threats to our freedom and security are just as big — if not bigger.”
“During the Cold War, Europeans spent far more than 3 percent of their GDP on defense,” the former Dutch PM said. In the early 1980s, before the collapse of the Soviet Union, NATO’s European members spent an average of about 3.8 percent of GDP on defense.
During a Q&A session after his speech, Rutte refused to commit to a specific new defense spending target, only saying that “considerably more than 2 percent” is needed.
Russia’s skyrocketing defense spending shows that the Kremlin is gearing up for a long-term conflict with both Ukraine and other European countries, Rutte said, citing figures that estimate Moscow’s military outlay at more than a third of the state budget, or over 6 percent of GDP.
There’s a growing consensus among allies that the current 2 percent goal is not enough to implement regional defense plans and meet NATO’s capability targets, which are expected to be updated with more requirements next year.