The Netherlands set to meet Nato 2% defence spending target
The Netherlands is set to top the Nato standard of spending at least 2% of GDP on defence this year, according to new figures from the organisation itself.
In total, 22 of the 32 Nato countries will meet the requirement this year, the first time so many countries have done so, secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said in Washington on Monday. The minimum was introduced in 2006.
The Netherlands has been consistently below the 2% level but the outgoing government upped spending this year. Poland spends proportionally the most on defence, investing 4.1% of GDP in its armed forces.
Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, who is hoping to take over from Stoltenberg this summer, told reporters it was good news that the Netherlands had met the target. “If you see what is going on in the world, then we have to be able to pay our way,” Rutte said.
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