German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, commenting on a new underwater cable damage incident in the Baltic Sea, remarked on the danger posed by the Russian shadow fleet and stressed the need to increase defense spending. Scholz recalled that NATO is the guarantor of common security, and many Alliance members have recently increased their defense spending significantly.
“We need to strengthen the European part of NATO and further increase defense spending,” he added.
Scholz also stressed the need to continue supporting Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression.
Simultaneously, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte emphasized that the 2% of GDP defense spending goal for each NATO country that was established 10 years ago is outdated, so Alliance members must raise the bar, as this is required by the challenges that NATO currently faces. Rutte has previously mentioned 3.7% of GDP as a possible benchmark. The issue of raising the spending target will be discussed at a summit in The Hague in the summer of 2025.
US President Donald Trump is calling for an increase in NATO’s spending target to 5% of GDP for each member country.