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NATO's Rutte assumes that the alliance will agree to a 5% spending target

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated on Monday that, he believes the alliance will agree to an overall defence spending target at 5% of their gross domestic product when they meet in The Hague for a summit next month.

Rutte, speaking at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly meeting in Dayton, said: "I expect that we will reach an agreement in The Hague on a target for a high defense spending of 5%."

He added: "Let's assume that 5% of the total hard spending is a target. I won't say how it breaks down, but the amount will be north of 3%.

Reports earlier in the month stated that Rutte proposed NATO members increase defence spending to a maximum of 3.5% GDP and an additional 1.5% for other security-related items, to meet U.S. president Donald Trump's 5% target.

NATO hopes to reach an agreement on new targets during a summit meeting of leaders at The Hague, June 24-25.

Dick Schoof, Dutch Prime Minister, said that earlier this month "Rutte sent a message to all NATO member countries to say that Rutte expects the NATO summit to commit to a 3.5% increase in hard military expenditures, which will be achieved by 2032. And he also expects 1% to be spent on other related items, such as infrastructure, cyber-security, and similar matters, that are to be met by 2032". (Reporting and editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout, Hugh Lawson and Lili Bayer)

(source: Reuters)