Rutte: EU countries should increase their defense spending or learn the Russian language.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called on European Alliance countries to increase their defense budgets. Otherwise, he noted, Europeans will have to “finish Russian language courses or go to New Zealand,” Politico reports.

“On average, European countries easily spend up to 25% of their national income on pensions, healthcare, and social security systems, and we need only a small part of this money to strengthen defense significantly,” Rutte said.

He notes that 24 of 32 NATO members have reached the defense spending target of 2% of GDP. But this is not enough: NATO’s final spending target could be around 3.6% or 3.7% of GDP. NATO’s secretary general reflected on the various threats posed by Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, recognizing that their significance is constantly increasing.

“We are safe now but won’t be in four or five years. We are not at war, but we are not at peace either. That’s why we need to invest more in defense and increase the resilience of communities and critical infrastructure,” Rutte said.