NATO Chief Rutte Confident UK Understands Need for Credible Defence Spending Path
Quick Look
- NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte expressed confidence that the UK government understands the need for a credible path to increase defence spending to meet the 3.5% of GDP target by 2035, following meetings with UK ministers including Defence Secretary Wes Streeting and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband.
- He emphasized that yearly increments are accepted but the exact pathway will be set in next year's spending review, while noting defence spending should be separated from welfare considerations and funded through economic growth.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
NATO has established a target for member states to allocate 3.5% of GDP to defence spending by 2035. The UK currently spends approximately 2.6% of GDP on defence. Discussions have arisen over how to fund increases, with some proposing cuts to welfare benefits while others advocate for economic growth as the primary funding mechanism.
Nato chief Mark Rutte has said he is confident the UK government understands the need for a "credible path" to increase defence spending.
The alliance's secretary general told the BBC he was "absolutely confident" in the UK's commitment to hit a Nato-wide spending target of 3.5% of GDP by 2035.
Speaking after meetings in London, he said British ministers accepted the need to make yearly steps towards hitting the target.
But he accepted that the exact "pathway" towards the goal would not be set out until next year.
Andy Burnham has followed predecessor Sir Keir Starmer in committing to reach Nato's 3.5% spending target by 2035, up from an estimated 2.6% this year.
He has said date for reaching a planned 3% interim target will come next spring, when the long-term budgets of government departments are due to be set.
But he has faced pressure to immediately commit to reaching the milestone by the end of the decade. His chancellor and ex-defence secretary John Healey has previously argued this would show Britain was serious about the Nato goal.
Former Dutch PM Rutte has been encouraging members of the alliance not to pencil in large spending increases shortly before the deadline.
Speaking to BBC political editor Chris Mason after meeting Defence Secretary Wes Streeting and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband in London, Rutte said he was confident British ministers understood the 2035 target could not be met "in one go in 2034".
"I am absolutely confident that when it comes to the 3.5[%] they are there," he said.
"I am absolutely confident that when it comes to the yearly increments, they totally take it and accept it, that they have to be there.
"There has to be a credible path. What that credible path exactly will be, we will see with the spending review next year," he added.
Rutte also said that defence spending should be separated out from the issue of welfare, adding that economic growth was the key to ensuring military commitments could be met alongside spending in other areas.
The Conservatives have been pushing for hikes in defence spending to be funded through cuts to benefits, and have criticised Burnham for saying last week that national security "can't come at the expense of social security".
Rutte added: "I don't know all the details of the UK economy, I think this is something this government is now navigating," he added.
"But I would say these are two separate issues."
"One is, indeed, spending on defence, but the other is of course making sure that the economy is growing enough, so you can distribute the success of a growing economy amongst various income groups, various issues in the Budget, for example welfare and healthcare and the pensions."
"You have to do it all, and if you want to do it successfully, you need economic growth," he added.
"Of course there are issues. I've been prime minister myself for 14 years. You have to take tough decisions, and it's not always easy."
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The UK government will outline a detailed yearly spending plan to reach 3.5% of GDP defence spending by 2035 in next year's spending review.
Likely · Within months
Defence sector stocks in the UK will experience moderate positive pressure as investors anticipate increased government contracts over the medium term.
Possible · Within months
Open Questions
- What specific yearly increments will the UK implement to reach the 3.5% target?
- How will the UK government balance defence spending increases with welfare and healthcare budgets?
- What economic growth projections underlie the assumption that growth can fund defence increases without welfare cuts?
