(Bloomberg) — NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that increased defense budgets by European governments were the first step in securing the continent and that contractors need to play their part by increasing output.
“We also need to quickly ramp up our defense production,” Rutte said in an interview with German newspaper Welt am Sonntag. “This includes ammunition, ships, tanks, jets, but also satellites and drones. For far too long we have produced far too little.”
Europe is undertaking a major rearmament push to deter Russian aggression as President Donald Trump casts doubts over the role of the 32-member North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which includes the US and Canada as well as much of Europe.
Germany plans to loosen debt restrictions to bolster its military, while France has offered to extend its nuclear shield to its neighbors.
At an emergency meeting in Brussels on Thursday, EU leaders discussed a European Commission proposal that includes up to €150 billion ($162.5 billion) in loans to member states for defense spending, as well as plans to allow countries to use their national budgets to potentially spend €650 billion on defense over four years without triggering budgetary penalties.
While Rutte praised Germany’s defense companies, he said “the truth is that we are not producing nearly as much as we need.”
“I have traveled to multiple defense manufacturers and met with many CEOs of big armament companies, and my message to them is clear: The demand is there, we now count on you to meet it,” the former Dutch prime minister said.
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