According to NATO Secretary -General Mark Rutte, the Alliance needs a quick and radical change to be ready to face the current challenges. During the speech he presented at Comenius University in Bratislava, Rutte again called on a significant increase in NATO spending on defense, above three percent of GDP, as well as to increase the capacity of the defense industry in Europe, TASR reports.
According to Rutte, security is at risk not only in Europe but around the world. He pointed out that Russia, which unleashed the war in Ukraine, renews its military capacities much faster than expected, and “it was connected with China, North Korea and Iran.”
Even in the event that the war has ended in Ukraine, according to NATO Secretary -General, the threats will not disappear and the Alliance “must prepare for intensive global rivalry”. For this reason, Member States should invest more in their own security.
Rutte: We have many shortcomings
“We need a huge leap forward in our collective defense,” says Rutte, who thinks Member States have to invest “much more than three percent” in their defense, as the armies of individual countries have shortcomings in several areas including long -range shots, air defense shots or logistics. “We have a lot of shortcomings and two percent of them cannot pay them,” he said, pointing out that the future extent of the members of the Alliance for Defense will be decided at this year’s NATO summit in the Hague, Netherlands.
“Today we pass and do more, but we are far from where we need to be. We need a quick and radical change. Then it is strong, but we need to be even stronger, “Rutte said, picking up the robust plans of the alliance to defend the Member States.
However, the security of the Alliance also depends on the means by which the armed forces have. Rutte therefore called on to increase capacity in the defense industry. Member States’ armies need equipment to deter anyone, “even from the idea of attacking us,” he said.
Rutte visited the Slovak Republic for the first time since joining office on Thursday. He met President Peter Pellegrini and Defense Minister Robert Kalinak. He also spoke to soldiers of the Multinational NATO combat group in the center of Lešť training.
