At the NATO Summit this fall, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen looks to member state leaders to commit to increasing defense spending and then to be particular about what they spend those funds on.
“At our Summit in Wales, I expect all alliance leaders to commit to change course on defense spending,” he said at the Atlantic Council July 7 in his last major public visit to the United States before leaving office in October.
“To reverse the decline,” he said. “And to back up that commitment with concrete action.”
If member states do increase their defense spending, it would rise in real terms for the first time since the end of the Cold War, Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen joins at least two previous Secretary Generals–Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Lord Robertson–in calling for a reversal of the low defense spending trend.
“If all the European Allies spend two percent of their national income on defense this year, we would have another $90 billion to spend,” he said. “That is the equivalent of today’s defense budgets of Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Norway combined.”
He commended Estonia,for example, that despite a severe economic crisis has joined the United States, United Kingdom and Greece as allies that invest at least two percent of the Gross Domestic Product in defense. As well, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Turkey have committed to do the same.
The point is not about what is spent, it’s about how it’s spent, he said. “We need to focus on what we really need to keep our nations safe in the 21st century. On capabilities and skills for the future. And we must do more together, as allies and with partners.”
A truly integrated transatlantic community is required for the alliance to meet challenges in a world where NATO is “surrounded by conflict, danger, disorder and autocratic regimes.”
For one thing, such integration means strengthening economic ties. He welcomed President Barack Obama’s effort to ask Congress to authorize up to a $1 billion for a European Reassurance Initiative. This, Rasmussen said, shows the United States’ commitment to the security of Europe, and now, allies need to strengthen their commitment.
“The Transatlantic Free Trade Area is a unique opportunity to reinforce our economic ties,” he said. “The trade deals currently being negotiated between North America and Europe are the next step. And the right step. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership will eliminate tariffs, cut red tape and open up new markets. It is potentially the biggest trade and investment deal in history.”
Rasmussen offered a preview of the Sept. 4-5 summit activity by saying future planning means NATO must be ready for any threat from anywhere. In Wales, a new Readiness Action Plan will be discussed that is to ensure the alliance is always prepared.
For the new plan, the alliance will consider how it deploys forces, what combination of forces is needed, where they should be deployed and their readiness, he said.
NATO is also considering reinforcement measures, he said, “such as necessary infrastructure, the designation of bases and prepositioning of equipment and supplies,” he said. “We are reviewing our defense plans, threat assessments, intelligence-sharing arrangements and early-warning procedures.”
A new exercise schedule is under development that is adapted to the new security environment. As well, the alliance wants to strengthen the NATO Response Force and Special Forces to respond more quickly to any threat against any alliance member of the Alliance, “including when we have little warning.”
Another initiative that will be launched in Wales is Defense Capacity Building. This will allow NATO to help other nations build up their defense structures and forces. This will help them be better able to take care of security in their own region. “We can project stability without always deploying large numbers of our own troops.
Wrapping up, Rasmussen said the summit will ensure that “NATO stands ready, robust and resolute to face the future.”
In October former Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg takes the alliance helm.