Thu. Dec 19th, 2024
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaking at an event hosted by Carnegie Europe.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaking at a Carnegie Europe event. Source: NATO

Brussels, 12 December 2024

Speech by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the Concert Noble, Brussels

    (As delivered)

    Thank you very much Rosa, and many thanks to Carnegie Europe for organising this event today in this spectacular venue.

    And it’s great to see so many people here in the room and I know many more join us online, from all over the world. So good morning, afternoon, evening to you all!I’m very honoured to start a crucial conversation with the citizens living in NATO countries, especially in Europe and Canada.

    It’s you I’m talking to. It’s your support I need. It’s your voices and actions that will determine our future security. I’ll be honest: the security situation does not look good.

    It’s undoubtedly the worst in my lifetime. And I suspect in yours too. From Brussels, it takes one day to drive to Ukraine. One day – That’s how close the Russian bombs are falling. It’s how close the Iranian drones are flying. And not very much further, the North Korean soldiers are fighting.

    Every day, this war causes more devastation and death. Every week, there are over 10.000 killed or wounded on all sides in Ukraine.

    Over 1 million casualties since February 2022. Putin is trying to wipe Ukraine off the map. He is trying to fundamentally change the security architecture that has kept Europe safe for decades. And he is trying to crush our freedom and way of life. His pattern of aggression is not new.

    But for too long, we did not act. Georgia in 2008. Crimea in 2014. And many did not want to believe he would launch all-out war on Ukraine in February 2022.How many more wake-up calls do we need?We should be profoundly concerned.

    I know I am. Russia’s economy is on a war footing. In 2025, the total military spending will be 7 to 8% of GDP, if not more. That’s a third of Russia’s state budget – and the highest level since the Cold War.  And Russia’s defence industry is producing huge numbers of tanks, armoured vehicles, and ammunition.

    What Russia lacks in quality, it makes up for in quantity – with the help of China, Iran, and North Korea. This all points in one clear direction: Russia is preparing for long-term confrontation. With Ukraine. And with us.

    Hostile actions against Allied countries are real and accelerating. Malicious cyber-attacks on both sides of the Atlantic. Assassination attempts on British and German soil. Explosions at an ammunition warehouse in Czechia. The weaponization of migrants crossing illegally into Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland.

    Jamming to disrupt civil aviation in the Baltic region. These attacks are not just isolated incidents. They are the result of a coordinated campaign to destabilise our societies and discourage us from supporting Ukraine. They circumvent our deterrence and bring the front line to our front doors. Even into our homes. Putin believes that “a serious, irreconcilable struggle is unfolding for the formation of a new world order.”

    These are his own words. Others share his belief.

    Not least China. We need to be clear-eyed about China’s ambitions. China is substantially building up its forces, including its nuclear weapons – with no transparency and no limitations. From 200 warheads in 2020, China is expected to have more than a 1,000 nuclear weapons by 2030. Its space-launch investments are skyrocketing. China is bullying Taiwan, and pursuing access to our critical infrastructure in ways that could cripple our societies.

    Russia, China, but also North Korea and Iran, are hard at work to try to weaken North America and Europe. To chip away at our freedom. They want to reshape the global order. Not to create a fairer one, but to secure their own spheres of influence. They are testing us.

    And the rest of the world is watching. No, we are not at war. But we are certainly not at peace either.

    I want to be clear: There is no imminent military threat to our 32 Allies. Because NATO has been transforming to keep us safe. Defence spending has gone up. Innovation has accelerated.  We have more forces at higher readiness. Larger and more frequent military exercises. More troops and hardware on our eastern flank. And, with Finland and Sweden, more NATO Allies. With all this, our deterrence is good – for now.

    But it’s tomorrow I’m worried about. We are not ready for what is coming our way in four to five years.

    Danger is moving towards us at full speed. We must not look the other way. We must face it: What is happening in Ukraine could happen here too. And regardless of the outcome of this war, we will not be safe in the future unless we are prepared to deal with danger.

    We can do that. We can prevent the next big war on NATO territory. And preserve our way of life.This requires us all to be faster and fiercer. It is time to shift to a wartime mindset. And turbo-charge our defence production and defence spending.

    On defence production, I am absolutely convinced that ramping it up is a top priority. Since starting at NATO, I’ve been to Ukraine and seen what they need to fight for freedom.

    I have visited engineers at Thales in France, a Rheinmetall factory – no, not in Germany, in Italy and Turkish Aerospace Industries in Türkiye and I saw the capabilities they provide. And I have met with industry representatives who have told me that they require –what they require, to increase their production.

    I can tell you: There is a lot that needs to be done to ensure long-term deterrence and restore peace. We are not where we want to be. Our defence industry, here in Europe, has been hollowed out by decades of underinvestment and narrow national industrial interests – when our continent was at peace, and defence became an optional extra.

    As a result, our industry is too small, too fragmented and too slow.Meanwhile, Russian arms factories are churning out war equipment around the clock. And despite the heroic efforts of our Ukrainian friends,

    Russia is reconstituting its forces much quicker than we had anticipated. They are learning fast from the battlefield.

    China’s military industrial base is also growing. According to some sources, China is acquiring high-end weapons systems and equipment five to six times faster than the US. It is heavily investing in munitions, accelerating space capabilities and expanding its nuclear arsenal – I repeat – without any transparency or limitations.

    China is also challenging our technological edge – by investing massively in the disruptive technologies of tomorrow, including AI, quantum and space. All this will help China with planning, command and control, and targeting. Russia and China are racing ahead.

    We risk lagging behind. This is very dangerous. But it does not have to be. If we boost our industry, we can outpace our competitors.

    So what are we waiting for? We already have robust defence plans in place. We know exactly how we will defend our Alliance and what future assets and capabilities we need – from ships, tanks, jets, munitions and satellites to new drone technologies.

    Ukrainians are fighting against Russian swarms of drones. That’s what we need to be prepared for. We also already have committed to accelerating the growth of defence industrial capacity and production across the Alliance.

    Now, we must deliver – I repeat deliver – on our commitments. We all have a part to play to make this happen.To governments I say: Give our industries the big orders and long-term contracts they need to rapidly produce more and better capabilities. Buying only big-ticket items that are delivered too late will not keep us safe. We also need modern capabilities that use the most advanced technologies. And we need them now.

    So embrace risk and invest in the pool of innovators across our countries. Embracing risk requires you, governments, to change outdated procurement rules. And to reconsider your detailed national requirements.

    With a million casualties on our doorstep, you have no time to waste. As an example, related to armoured personnel carriers: One nation needs to have the rear door opening to the left. Another needs it to open to the right. And a third one needs it to open upwards. All these requirements are mandatory. Is this how we define our needs and priorities, especially when time is of the essence?

    This has got to change! I also say to governments: Stop creating barriers between each other and between industries, banks and pension funds. Instead, tear these barriers down. They only increase production costs, stifle innovation and ultimately hamper our security.

    To the defence industry I say: You need to do everything you can to keep us safe. There’s money on the table, and it will only increase. So dare to innovate and take risks! Come up with solutions to the swarms of drones and other new war tactics. Put in the extra shifts and new production lines!

    And finally, to the citizens of NATO countries, especially in Europe, I say: Tell your banks and pension funds it is simply unacceptable that they refuse to invest in the defence industry. Defence is not in the same category as illicit drugs and pornography. Investing in defence is an investment in our security. It’s a must!

    And this brings me to my main point: Defence spending. It is true that we spend more on defence now than we did a decade ago. But we are still spending far less than during the Cold War. Even though the threats to our freedom and security are just as big – if not bigger. During the Cold War, Europeans spent far more than 3% of their GDP on defence. With that mentality, we won the Cold War.

    Spending dropped after the Iron Curtain fell. The world was safer. It is not anymore. A decade ago, Allies agreed it was time to invest in defence once again. The benchmark was set at 2%. By 2023, NATO Allies agreed to invest ‘at least’ 2%. At least…

    I can tell you, we are going to need a lot more than 2%. I know spending more on defence means spending less on other priorities. But it is only a little less. On average, European countries easily spend up to a quarter of their national income on pensions, health and social security systems.

    We need a small fraction of that money to make our defences much stronger, and to preserve our way of life.  Prioritising defence requires political leadership. It can be tough and risky in the short term. But it’s absolutely essential in the long term.

    Some people will tell you otherwise. They think strong defence is not the way to peace. Well, they are wrong. Because without strong defence, there is no lasting security. And without security, there is no freedom for our children and grand-children. No schools, no hospitals, no businesses. There is nothing. Those who lived through the Second World War know this.

    And our Ukrainian friends are living it every day. When I was in Kharkiv earlier this year, I saw so many buildings completely destroyed. I stood in rubble where homes used to be. Where families used to live. I saw schools moved underground, into metro stations. It was very moving to see children so eager to learn, and teachers so eager to teach… despite their lives being completely disrupted. I visited the wounded in hospitals. Soldiers that lost limbs. War is brutal and ugly.War is also very costly in economic terms. Ukraine, as we speak, is allocating nearly a quarter of its GDP for defence next year. That is more than 10 times what European NATO Allies spend.

    A harsh reminder that freedom does not come for free.If we don’t spend more together now to prevent war, we will pay a much, much, much higher price later to fight it. Not billions, but trillions of euros.
    That’s if we come out on top…and that’s if we win.

    In politics, there is a time to talk, a time to decide, and a time to act. I know politicians talk – a lot. That’s what I do here today! They make decisions, when needed. Sometimes difficult ones. But to act, people must support those decisions.
    It’s in your hands.

    Today, I call for your support. Action is urgent. To protect our freedom, our prosperity, and our way of life, your politicians need to listen to your voices. Tell them you accept to make sacrifices today so that we can stay safe tomorrow. Tell them they need to spend more on defence so that we can continue to live in peace. Tell them that security matters more than anything. I am confident that collectively at NATO, we can continue to keep our one billion people safe.

    We have enormous advantages. We are 32 Allies strong. Together, NATO Allies represent half of the world’s economic and military might. We have exceptional intelligence services. Innovative industries and businesses. Some of the best universities and research institutions in the world. And we have many partners across the globe.When we put our minds and political will to it, there is nothing we cannot do – Europe and North America together.

    Our adversaries think they are tough, and we are soft. They invade other countries, while we uphold international rules. They oppress their people, while we cherish freedom. They should remember that there is no greater power than democracies coming together.

    When we are attacked, our response is fierce. To ensure no one ever considers attacking us, we must maintain long-term deterrence. We can do this. We have done it before. We can do it again.

    Thank you very much.

    Source – NATO

     

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