Mark Rutte is currently on tour between the capitals of member states ahead of the NATO summit. On Friday, he is in Stockholm to meet Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M).
The main item on the agenda in The Hague will be to decide on a new budget target, i.e. how much NATO countries should spend on defense expenditures.
Rutte has proposed 5 percent as the new budget target, divided into 3.5 percent on traditional defense and 1.5 percent on investments with military utility, which can be everything from roads and bridges to civilian defense. Today's target is at least 2 percent of GDP.
Sweden wants the target to be achieved by 2030, but there are also countries that want 2035 as the target date.
We have said that we are ready and capable of doing this until 2030. It is based on the fact that we are convinced that Russia within 3–5 years could be able to build up its capabilities again, as they are today locked in Ukraine. So it's urgent, says Ulf Kristersson.
