Belgium must invest more in defence as soon as possible, said NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.
The threat of war is one of the main topics of discussion at the annual global economic forum which brings together business leaders and politicians and is mainly funded by multinational companies.
Rutte said on Wednesday evening that he hopes that Belgium will "go to the agreed 2% as soon as possible" by investing significantly more in defence, he told VRT, adding that that "should not be the endpoint" of the investments.
"First we have to get to around 2%, then we will have to do more," he said.
Outgoing Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Spain's Economy Minister Nadia Calvino and John Cockerill CEO Francois Michel pictured during the 2024 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday 22 January 2025. Credit: Belga
In 2006, the members of the Western military alliance NATO decided to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defence, but only a limited number of countries achieved that goal. Belgium (1.3%) has been among the lowest spenders for some time now.
Now, however, the percentage may be raised in the near future: with Donald Trump becoming US President, NATO countries may soon have to invest 5% of their GDP in defence.
'Spasiba'
At Davos, the former Dutch PM was a guest of honour at the Belgian reception. After arriving, he first poured a pint, met Belgium's outgoing Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open VLD) and the Belgian Royal couple and then took part in a panel discussion on "making the industry war-proof."
The session started merrily, as De Croo jokingly asked Rutte how his Russian was. "Spasiba," he responded, which means "thank you" in Russian. Last week, the NATO chief warned that EU residents had better learn Russian if Member States did not invest more money into defence.
During the conversation, Rutte talked about private investments in defence companies. Objectives around sustainable investment have caused many investors to stay away from this in recent years.
"I call on the population of the NATO countries to go to their banks and pension funds to make it clear to them that they want to be protected," he said. "Nice projects around the UN Millennium Development Goals (to eradicate poverty in the world) are all well and good, but first and foremost we have to be able to fight the Russians if they attack us."
Collectively step up a gear
Additionally, NATO countries must pay their "fair share" before considering expanding the organisation, said Richard Grenell, who was recently named presidential envoy for special missions by US President Donald Trump, on Thursday.
"You cannot ask the American people to expand the NATO umbrella when current members are not paying their fair share," he said during a breakfast meeting on the sidelines of the Davos Forum.
"We have to make sure that these leaders spend the right amount. We have to be able to avoid war. And that assumes a credible threat from NATO," Grenell said, criticising the fact that Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, had stopped talking to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "The American people are very frustrated that we are spending hundreds of billions of dollars and our leaders are not talking to each other to try to solve the problems."
During the exchange on Thursday, Rutte agreed that NATO Member States' spending should increase. "We need to collectively step up a gear and we will decide the exact number later this year, but it will be considerably more than 2%."
