NATO peak in the Netherlands.
Haiyun Jiang By Reuters
It will be a moment of truth for NATO on Wednesday, when the Western military alliance releases a joint statement of a heavily pushed and preview of the collective journey of defense expenses.
Allies were corrected, persuaded and forced to increase defense expenditure from 2% to 5% of the gross domestic product of each member by 2035, even when some tried to achieve a lower goal.
It is widely expected that 32 Block Member States will light the journey on Wednesday – NATO ambassadors have already already agreed – but the action and deadline may continue to slip.
The US commitment in the alliance also focuses, after years of frustration of US President Donald Trump towards Canadian and European allies who do not attract their weight in terms of defense.
When he came to the top at the end on Tuesday, Trump seemed to question the central principle of NATO collective defense (Article 5), which states that the attack on one member is an attack on everyone.
“There are many definitions of Art. 5. You know that, right?” Trump told journalists at Air Force One. “But I am involved in being their friends, you know, I made friends with many of these leaders and I am involved in helping them.”
Secretary General of the Military Coalition, Mark Rutte, wanted to calm the allies that Washington would not abandon the block, saying that “there is a total involvement of the US President and the US higher management in NATO.”
“However, this is associated with expectations. We expect that in the end we can handle this huge irritating, that is, that we do not spend enough as Europeans and Canadians,” said Rutte on Tuesday.
“Time for serious”
In 2014, NATO members undertook to spend 2% of GDP for defense, but some countries, such as Canada and Spain, tried to achieve this threshold.
Other Member States, especially those on the northern and eastern flank of the block and closer to the opponent of Russia – such as Poland and Estonia – have significantly exceeded this goal.
Spain, the lowest driving as part of GDP in the alliance, has already pierced her head over the window sill to risk Trump's anger, saying that the increase in expenses up to 5% of GDP was “unjustified”, apparently looking for resignation from the new goal.
Madrid also wants greater flexibility in how and when he has to raise defense expensesLike Belgium, which hosts NATO's headquarters. Italy also expressed skepticism over a new goal, saying that he would only achieve 2% this year, After last week, opening the alliance point.
Rutte from NATO said that he “did not worry”, that Spain would conquer the targets of the summit and his significant diplomatic efforts to convince members to accept higher expenses.
“Of course, these are difficult decisions, let's be honest in this matter. Seven or eight countries at the beginning of this year were not even for 2% … but now they committed to do it this year,” said Steve Sedgwick from CNBC at a press conference on Wednesday.
“But you are right, countries must find money. It is not easy, these are political decisions, but at the same time there is no absolute conviction with my colleagues at the table that considering the threat from Russia, given the situation of international security, there is no alternative.”
Other heads of states, foreign ministers and defense told CNBC that they hope that allies would be fine.
The Dutch prime minister Dick Schoof was in a stubborn mood on Wednesday, saying CNBC that NATO would “provide unity”, but other European leaders could not exclude the possibility of a consensus for an ambitious purpose of expenses.
The Prime Minister of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson, said on Tuesday CNBC that he could not “exclude any problem. I think you can't”, although he added that “the time has come not to risk. It's time to defend seriously.”
“You can take this unity for granted. I say that NATO's very strong unity would be in itself, and this will be absolutely ours, it will be our message at the meeting of tomorrow (Wednesday),” said CNBC on the side of the summit.
Meanwhile, Hanno Pevkur, the Minister of Defense of Estonia, said that 32 NATO members would have to find a compromise.
“I would say that the realistic result is such that we will reach 5% to (20) 35, and then we will have a target review (on resources),” he said. “Of course, the worst scenario is that we will not reach a consensus. But I think that this percentage or this possibility is very, very low,” he said.