PM Schoof confirms NATO's plans for members to increase defense spending by 2032

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof confirmed on Friday that his predecessor, current NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, wants an increased standard for defense spending to come into effect in 2032. It is the first time that a timetable for the new NATO standard has been made public, though Rutte has spoken on other occasions to indicate the importance of boosting spending within the military alliance by 2032.

Schoof spoke on Friday at his press conference after the regular weekly Council of Ministers meeting. Rutte also spoke on Friday after his meeting with new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

As it stands, the agreement is that NATO member states have to spend 2 percent of their GDP on their country’s defense. This has been the case since it was agreed in 2014 at the NATO Summit in Wales. Member states were given 10 years to reach this target with 22 out of the 32 member states still having yet to reach the standard.

Reuters first reported recently that Rutte wants allied countries to increase their military expenditure to 3.5 percent of GDP by 2032. In addition, another 1.5 percent would have to be spent on infrastructure and cybersecurity. This is also a goal that he wants to see achieved by 2032. He reportedly wrote to member states last week to push for an announcement to commit to the new standard during the upcoming NATO Summit in The Hague.

Rutte refused to confirm the numbers during his press conference with Merz, but he explained his decision to raise the defense spending. "To be able to defend ourselves in five years’ time and to keep the deterrence and defense at the level we need, we must not only to spend much more, but also build a defense industrial base across the Atlantic, across the whole Euro-Atlantic area, including the United States and Canada, and all the European countries in NATO. It’s crucial.”

Speaking after his Cabinet meeting, Schoof said most of his minister' involved in this decision have already held discussions about the NATO General Secretary's wishes. The discussion will continue in the coming weeks to determine the Netherlands' commitment to the NATO summit. The countries of the alliance must agree on the new standard at the summit in the end of June.

Schoof has also publicly said on several occasions that he feels the country needs an increase in defense spending. "I have always been very clear about this. But that does not mean that you immediately say yes to the first letter from the Secretary General of NATO. We need to have discussions about this," said the prime minister.

Rutte mentioned the threat of Russia as one of the reasons that the NATO member states must arm themselves. “The Russians are producing in three months in ammunition, what the whole of NATO, which is 25 times bigger than Russia, in terms of the overall economy, is producing in a year. So that’s not sustainable. So this is both spending and more production.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has demanded that the NATO member states spend 5 percent of their GDP on their defense. Sources close to the situation told Reuters that the move by Rutte is an attempt to appease Trump ahead of the NATO Summit in The Hague in June, while not caving in to his demands, which many have said is economically unviable.

The U.S. recently announced that it will no longer be focused on protecting the European continent. Trump has said in the past that he will not come to the aid of NATO members if they have not spent enough money on their defense.

This would contradict Article 5 of the alliance, which states that an attack on one country is an attack on all countries. Schoof said that he is not concerned with the threat from the U.S. He claims they are still fully committed to to Article 5. He also said that he has no doubts that Trump will attend the summit in The Hague.

NATO sources are quick to say that member states have suggested various deadlines. There may also be an intermediate target.