Mark Ruth is determined to win Donald Trump at the upcoming NATO summit.
The alliance's Secretary -General wants to avoid scenes from 2016 when, while in his first term, US president killed European allies that he did not spend enough to defense and take advantage of US taxpayers.
Trump examines relationships, even based on collective security as transactional.
And so at a press conference in Brussels on Thursday, Rute suggested NATO members consume 5% of the gross domestic product (GDP) for defense – something that Trump openly called for.
The increase – which would more than double the current objective of NATO members to spend 2% of GDP – is a great request for many European countries.
Some may ask if such a transaction would be referring to Russia or – at least partly – intended to appease the president.
Ruth's compromise will slightly relieve weight. This will require nations to increase the basic defense costs to 3.5% of GDP, while the remaining 1.5% will consist of “protection -related costs”.
This is an unclear enough term that allows them a small room. Ruth said he could include infrastructure and industry costs.
He said the United States will also register with the new goal – albeit for Washington, which already spends 3.4% on defense, it will be relatively painless.
The real test is not the commitment, but whether it delivers. Leaders who are expected to reach an agreement in The Hague will have long gone to the point where their relevant nations are expected to achieve the new goal.
There is no schedule yet, but it will probably be about 10 years. There is neither a real sanction that NATO can impose on non -payers. A handful of nations should still reach the goal of 2% more than a decade ago.
At a press conference in Brussels on Thursday, the route – who had previously led a country that had not yet fulfilled the goal of 2% – was asked if he could guarantee that the parties would fulfill the commitment over time.
He only said there was a “clever plan” to keep political leaders to report that nations will engage in annual plans showing the increase each year to make sure you reach the new goal of 5%. “
This would prevent the “hockey stick” of the cost graph over a time, where it suddenly rises to the end, he argued.
Rutte will visit Britain next week to meet Prime Minister Sir Kayer Starmer. The NATO Dwarf Cost Plays proposed by NATO for the UK Prime Minister's defense plans, according to which the United Kingdom will spend 2.5% of its GDP by 2027, with Ambition to raise this to 3% in the next parliament.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Heget claims that reporters on Thursday, that countries, including France, Germany, Baltic and Scandinavian countries, Poland, Greece and Hungary, have already committed themselves with a 5% bet.
He refused to name countries that have not yet committed themselves, but said he was sure the UK “would get there.”
“We think everyone will get there, we really do it. It's important that they do it. It's important for the United Kingdom to get there,” Heget said.
Additional reporting by Adam Hale and Pa Media