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Rutte asks allies for plans for defense spending

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has called on member states to present clear and concrete plans to meet defense spending targets ahead of the annual summit in Ankara. The goal is for all 32 members to invest 5% of their GDP into defense—3.5% for military budgets and 1.5% for infrastructure—to ensure faster troop and equipment mobility during conflicts. Spain supports the objective but argues it could be achieved without such high spending. Some countries still struggle to reach previous NATO goals of 2% of GDP. Rutte mentioned that if some nations lack clear plans, there are ways to address this, though he did not specify further. U.S. Ambassador Matthew Whitaker noted that the administration has ideas for countries not increasing spending but provided no details. President Trump expects allies to act immediately to reach the 5% target with urgency. Rutte stated that European and Canadian countries have shown progress, with NATO expecting them to invest an additional $258 billion in defense by 2025 and this year compared to previous years. However, these figures may not satisfy Trump, who has consistently criticized allies for low defense spending and threatened to stop defending