Nato’s Rutte calls for ‘quantum leap’ as Europe boosts defence investment

BRUSSELS - Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte has called for European countries and Canada to make a “quantum leap” in boosting their contribution to the alliance.

Mr Rutte, who is visiting Washington for talks with US officials, wrote

in an annual report published on April 24

that European North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies and Canada invested 19.4 per cent more in defence in 2024 than in 2023 in real terms, but that these efforts should be accelerated in 2025.

US President

Donald Trump has said Nato allies should spend

5 per cent of gross domestic product on defence – a level that no Nato country, including the US, currently reaches.

“European Allies and Canada must make a quantum leap when it comes to the contributions and capabilities they bring to bear. To do so, it will be essential to invest substantially more,” Mr Rutte wrote.

The US accounted for an estimated 64 per cent of the alliance’s defence expenditure in 2024, while European Nato members and Canada made up 36 per cent, according to the report, which also noted that in 2024, 22 out of the alliance’s 32 countries met Nato’s target of spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence. REUTERS