The new NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte met in Berlin with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, where he called on Germany to increase defense spending. This was reported by BILD, according to UNN.
Details
According to the newspaper, the joint press appearance was full of compliments: former Dutch Prime Minister Rutte called Scholz “dear Olaf,” listed Germany's military efforts, and noted the broad support for Ukraine. Addressing Scholz, he said: “Your historic turnaround has made a huge contribution to Germany's security and to the strengthening of the alliance.
However, Rutte called on Germany to increase defense spending.
All NATO Allies should invest more. And I am confident that Germany will continue to increase its contribution,
Although Germany has reached NATO's goal of spending 2% of GDP on defense for the first time in three decades, Rutte believes that this is not enough, especially given the threat of Russia. According to NATO, the German government has informed the alliance that it will allocate about 90.6 billion euros for defense this year, which could be about 2.1% of GDP.
For his part, Scholz promised to continue the chosen course. “Europe will make significant investments in the coming years,” the German Chancellor said. “We are talking about the ability to withstand any security threat in Europe,” he emphasized.
Germany could be a key player in ending the war in Ukraine - FT29.10.24, 10:38