Dutch vote to increase defence spending ahead of Nato summit

A broad coalition of parties, including the far right PVV, have voted to increase Dutch defence spending to 3.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), in a move described by acting defence minister Ruben Brekelmans as a “historic decision”..

The new target is in line with calls by Nato secretary general Mark Rutte and the vote comes a week ahead of the Nato summit, which will be held in The Hague and during which increasing defence spending will be high on the agenda.

The cost of the extra spending has been estimated at between €16 billion and €19 billion and discussions on how to fund the increase will be held at a later date.

In addition, the government wants to spend a further 1.5% of GDP on projects that support defence capabilities, such as cybersecurity and infrastructure improvements. This broader effort is being framed as “general resilience”.

The Netherlands currently ranks 7th on the list of per capita defence spending amongst the 32 Nato countries, according to a report by national statistics office CBS released on Wednesday.

The Dutch spend €1,105 per person, behind Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Britain and the US, which tops the list, the CBS said.

The current Nato norm is 2%, which the Netherlands only just meets.