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Rutte: ‘NATO must adopt a wartime mentality’

Alliance Secretary General announces plan to strengthen defence industry and military spending

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte emphasised the need for the Alliance to ‘switch to a wartime mentality’ and urged the defence industry to step up production. He said this during the concluding press conference of the first Defence Ministerial 2025, where increased military spending and enhanced deterrence were discussed.

According to Rutte, the industry has already improved its production capacity, but needs to do more to meet growing demand. During the meeting, the allies agreed on a plan to strengthen the defence industrial base on both sides of the Atlantic.

President Donald Trump’s initiative for peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia was also discussed at the summit. He made it clear that the talks have not yet started and that any agreement will have to guarantee Kiev’s security in the long term. Rutte reiterated that Ukraine’s membership in NATO was never a mandatory requirement for negotiations.

The issue of military spending was central: Washington called for an increase in investment up to 5% of GDP, while Rutte stated that member states must at least exceed 3%. Italy remains among the few Alliance states that have not yet reached the 2% mark.

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