Nato chief Rutte: Investment in defence by Nato Allies in Europe and Canada rose 20% y/y in 2024

In 2024, Nato Allies in Europe and Canada invested $485 billion in defence, a nearly 20 per cent increase compared with 2023, Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte said on February 12, while urging stepped-up defence spending and arms production by the Alliance.

Previewing a meeting on February 13 of Nato defence ministers, Rutte said that two-thirds of Nato Allies were spending at least two per cent of their GDP on defence.

He said that expected more Allies to meet and, in many cases, exceed the target in 2025. 

“So we are seeing substantial progress. But we need to do a lot more so we have what we need to deter and defend. And so that there is more equitable burden sharing in place,” Rutte said.

“We also need to produce more, together,” he said.

Rutte said that at the February 13 meeting, defence ministers would discuss how to strengthen the Alliance’s transatlantic defence industrial capacity, ncluding through an updated Defence Production Action Plan.

“In the past few years, we have seen a substantial increase in defence production across the Alliance.
But we need to go further, and faster,” Rutte said. “There is no time to waste”.

He said that he expected the defence ministers to agree on a number of other important initiatives – including Nato’s new Commercial Space Strategy, and on further strengthening Nato’s Integrated Air and Missile Defence.

“We will also discuss Ukraine,” Rutte said, adding that the ministers would meet Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.

Since 2022, Nato Allies had provided Ukraine with unprecedented support, including 99 per cent of all military aid, Rutte said.

“And we have seen recent additions to this, from Sweden, Finland, Canada, but of also of course from France, the Mirages, and the F-16s from the Netherlands. Other Allies are also stepping up their efforts to train more Ukrainian troops,” he said.

He said that Nato’s newly established command in Wiesbaden to support Ukraine is at the forefront of coordinating these – and future – contributions.

At the Washington Summit, Allies pledged to provide Ukraine with 40 billion euro of security assistance in 2024.

“Allies have not only met their commitments. They far exceeded them,” Rutte said.

“They have provided over 50 billion euro, more than half of which comes from European Allies and Canada,” he said, adding that this sends a clear signal of Nato’s unwavering commitment to Ukraine.

“It also takes a big step in the direction of what President Trump has called for. I agree with him that we must equalize security assistance to Ukraine,” he said.

“But to really change the trajectory of the conflict, we need to do even more.

“The stronger Ukraine is on the battlefield, the stronger they will be at the negotiating table, the greater the chances of getting a good deal for lasting peace,” Rutte said.

He said that the Nato defence ministers would address Russia’s ongoing campaign of destabilizing actions against Nato Allies.

“We see acts of sabotage, assassination, dangerous jamming of civilian airlines, and attacks on critical infrastructure, including undersea infrastructure,” he said.

And Nato was responding, including though “Baltic Sentry” in the Baltic Sea, and with increased vigilance across the board, Rutte said.

(Photo: Nato)

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