It is good that Donald Trump was re-elected as US president, because NATO allies would not have increased defense spending without him, said the military alliance's Secretary General, Mark Rutte, yesterday.
Rutte's statements in Davos come at a time when Trump is stepping up threats to take over Greenland from Denmark, a move that would undermine the decades-long transatlantic alliance - perhaps fatally, according to the "Politiko" portal.
"I'm not popular with you now because I defend Donald Trump, but I really believe you can be happy that he's here, because he's made us in Europe wake up, to face the consequences of having to take care of a larger part of our own defense," Rutte said at a panel discussion titled "Can Europe Defend Itself?" at the World Economic Forum.
According to Rutte, major European economies, including Spain, Italy and France, would never have agreed to allocate 2 percent of GDP to defense if Trump had not become US president again.
“No way - without Donald Trump this would never have happened. Everyone is now at two percent,” Rutte said. “I am absolutely convinced that without Donald Trump you would not have made these decisions and that they are crucial, especially for the European and Canadian sides of NATO, to really mature in the post-Cold War world.”
The Netherlands, whose Prime Minister Rutte was for 14 years, from 2010 to 2024, was accused of under-allocating defense spending during his term, the Brussels portal points out.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has forced European countries to increase military spending, but also to prepare for a possible reduction in the number of US troops on the continent, as Trump refocuses American military priorities.
"The Americans still have more than 80.000 troops in Europe... including in Poland and Germany, and so they are still heavily involved in European defense. And yes, they have to turn more to Asia. So it is quite logical that they expect us, Europe, to take on more of the burden over time," Rutte continued, adding that the nuclear umbrella is the ultimate guarantee.
NATO allies agreed last summer to set a new defense spending target of five percent of GDP by 2035. The demand was initially raised by Trump, who has repeatedly alarmed allies by hinting that he might abandon the military alliance that is the bedrock of European security.
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