The American leader demanded that the Alliance members increase military budgets to five percent of GDP at the meeting 24. and 25. June in the Netherlands.
NATO leader Mark Rutte proposed a compromise agreement on 3.5 percent of the basic military expenditure by 2032. and 1.5 percent for wider areas related to safety such as infrastructure.
Several diplomats claim that Rutte appears to provide an agreement for the Hague Summit until NATO is struggling Russia after more than three years of war in Ukraine.
Several ally, however, hesitates about the obligation to such levels of consumption.
– The reason I am here to ensure that every country in NATO needs to be with a plow, each country must contribute at that level of five percent, the Hegseth at the meeting with its colleagues from NATO in Brussels.
– Our message will still be clear. It is a deterrent and peace through strength, but there is no reliance. He can’t and there will be no reliance on America in the world full of threats – he said.
The loudest in its hesitation is Spain, which should achieve the current NATO goal of two percent GDP until the end of this year.
Diplomats say other countries are bargaining around the extension of the time frame and giving up the requirements that the basic military consumption increases by 0.2 percentage points each year.
The agreement, however, is mostly made compromise, which will enable Trump to claim that he has achieved his main request, while in reality he sets the scale lower for European allys fighting.
The United States was supported by Rutte’s plan, but Washington insists that he wants each country to bring out the “credible path” to achieve the goal, AFP reports.
(Vijesti.ba / Fena)
