NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte yesterday at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (PA), which is being held in Ljubljana, emphasized the role of members of parliament in fulfilling the commitments that the leaders of NATO member states took at the summit in The Hague in June.
Rutte stressed the need to increase basic defense spending to 3.5% of gross domestic product (GDP).
“We live in a dangerous world and the threat is not far away,” Rutte said at the session, emphasizing that Russia’s new-generation missiles can hit European capitals in just a few minutes.
The importance of increasing budget allocations
He thanked the members of the Parliamentary Assembly for their work so far and called on them to encourage their governments to fulfill the commitments made at the June conference of the alliance in the Netherlands.
In his speech and debate with the parliamentarians, Rutte emphasized the importance of increasing the basic defense spending of member states to 3.5% of GDP, which is part of the commitment to a total five percent increase of the broader defense budget by 2035.
Answering a question from the head of the Slovenian delegation, Janez Zakelj (NSi), he explained that the decision to increase to 3.5% stems from NATO’s defense planning.
“We are doing this first and foremost to defend NATO territory. So, we need 3.5% to preserve the security of the Atlantic, the Arctic, and Europe, but also of the United States (U.S.),” he emphasized.
The second commitment is continued assistance to Ukraine
The second commitment of the leaders from the summit in The Hague refers to the continued assistance to Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression. After the summit, NATO launched a new initiative called PURL (Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List), through which European allied countries and Canada finance the delivery of weapons that, according to Rutte, Ukraine can only obtain from the U.S.
Rutte added that NATO must not underestimate the Russian threat, but also must not overestimate its military power. Still, Russia remains “very dangerous,” he warned, emphasizing Russian sabotage across Europe.
He again praised the reaction of NATO forces to the incursions of Russian drones into Polish airspace and Russian aircraft into Estonian airspace. He did not support those who believe that every Russian aircraft entering the airspace of a NATO member should be shot down.
“In that discussion, the military must have the leading role. They say they have the authorization to take the ultimate measure if the aircraft poses a threat. If it does not pose a threat, they will not shoot it down. (…) I fully agree with that approach, because we are much stronger than the Russians,” said the Secretary of the Alliance at the 71st annual session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.
After participating in the NATO PA session, as part of his official visit to Slovenia, Rutte will meet with Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob at Brdo Castle to discuss current challenges for the Alliance, and meetings are also planned with Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar and President of Parliament Urska Klakocar Zupancic.
