NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Defence Ministers concluded a “productive” meeting in Brussels centred on deterrence, defence investment and continued military support for Ukraine, describing the atmosphere as a turning point for the Alliance.
Rutte told reporters the meeting felt fundamentally different from previous ministerials, stating “what I saw and heard today is unlike any NATO meeting I have taken part in” since he began attending NATO meetings in 2010. He argued that the effects of last year’s Hague Summit decision to raise defence and security investment to 5% of GDP by 2035 were already visible, but said the more significant development was political momentum behind a stronger European contribution within NATO. According to Rutte, ministers demonstrated “a real shift in mindset, a unity of vision, a much stronger European defence within NATO.”
He highlighted examples of states already reaching or exceeding NATO’s spending ambitions, including Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, describing their progress as being “a decade ahead of schedule.” Germany, he added, is on track to double defence investment compared with recent years. Rutte said the purpose of the spending drive is to ensure NATO can deliver the forces and capabilities required for “warfighting readiness”, warning that meeting capability targets will require more than political commitments alone.
Rutte repeatedly emphasised that increased spending must translate into industrial output, arguing that the Alliance must move faster to meet growing demand. “We need quantity, and we need quality, and we need it quickly,” he said, calling for “more air defence, more ammunition and stronger supply chains across the Alliance.” He stressed the need to expand production capacity on both sides of the Atlantic and said multinational procurement arrangements were increasingly central to NATO’s approach.
Pointing to agreements signed during the meeting, he said Allies are pursuing cooperation on “deep precision strike capabilities” and “capabilities for ballistic missile defence.” He also highlighted the development of NATO’s Task Force X Baltic initiative, launched a year ago to enhance security of critical undersea infrastructure following incidents in the region. Rutte said the pilot effort is now moving into adoption by participating nations, noting that “eight Allies are now adopting and integrating these innovative multi-domain capabilities.”
He argued such multinational frameworks provide industry with the demand signals needed to expand production, describing cooperation as a “smart way” to deliver agile capability development while improving value for money. Rutte also linked this approach directly to lessons emerging from Ukraine, describing Ukraine’s defence sector as a driver of innovation in areas such as drones and counter-drone technology. “Ukraine is not only resilient, but remarkable in its ingenuity,” he said, praising Ukrainian battlefield adaptation and the work of Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
On military aid, Rutte said Ukraine continues to face persistent Russian strikes on civilian infrastructure and warned that the requirement for air defence remains urgent. He reaffirmed confidence in the NATO Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), which funds rapid procurement of US equipment for Ukraine, saying he was “absolutely confident” the flow of US air defence systems would continue. He described PURL as central to meeting Ukraine’s needs, particularly in relation to Patriot systems.
Rutte also addressed repeated questions about US representation at the ministerial after Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth again did not attend, with Under Secretary of Policy Elbridge Colby representing Washington. Rutte rejected claims this signalled a weakening of US commitment, arguing Colby’s remarks reinforced Washington’s strategic view that NATO remains vital for American security, particularly given risks of simultaneous crises in Europe and the Indo-Pacific. He said European Allies stepping up would strengthen the Alliance overall, calling the meeting one of the most pivotal he has attended.
Responding to questions on internal Alliance tensions and recent US comments regarding Greenland, Rutte argued NATO’s nature as a democratic alliance inevitably produces debate, but said it consistently “finds a way forward”. He said the defining feature of the current moment was Europe’s acceptance of long-term responsibility, stating the shift is now politically embedded rather than temporary. “People realising we will never break up. We will always stay together,” he said.
Rutte also defended the continued US role as Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), arguing that a strong American conventional and nuclear presence will remain essential, even as Europe takes greater responsibility through European-led Joint Force Commands. He described this as a logical balance in an alliance where the US economy represents over half of NATO’s total economic weight.
Closing the press conference, Rutte said NATO’s support for Ukraine remains inseparable from wider Alliance security, stating “NATO stands with Ukraine” and stressing that deterrence efforts such as Arctic Sentry demonstrate NATO’s commitment to defend “every inch” of Allied territory.
The USA has decided to take over control of MARCOM, the NATO maritime forces command based in Northwood in England. That is a major snub for the UK, indicating that the USN (and others?) have decided that the Royal Navy has become so weak that it is no longer capable of leading NATO’s defence at sea.
Vice Admiral Robert Pedre RN has only just taken over as MARCOM commander, he now faces having to handover command to an American Admiral in just a few months’ time.
That’s BS, the US was given MARCOM because it’s largely irrelevant and the US gave up the Joint Force Command. The UK and the US both basically swapped commands because JFC is much more relevant to fighting in Europe.
Jim, The MARCOM optics are so very bad. A USN Admiral probably becoming the senior naval officer at Northwood is humiliating for the RN, Mountbatten will be rotating at high speed in his grave.
A key problem is that MARCOM’s main peace time assets are the standing NATO Maritime Groups, and the RN now rarely contributes to the naval groups and has stopped completely contributing to the mine countermeasures groups. The collapse of the RN (frigates, subs, MCMVs, amphibs, auxiliaries ..) over the last 5 years has dismayed not just the USA but also our European allies. For example Türkiye can reasonably claim that it now makes a much larger contribution to NATO naval operations than the UK does.
and if the government gets its way, even more cuts are on the way.
where will it all end. ? and who will pay the ultimate price…
just a thought.