Speech by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the Wilson Center Auditorium on June 17, 2024:
First, deterrence and defence, NATO’s core business.
The United States’ military presence in Europe remains essential for the security and stability of the European continent. But Europeans are doing far more for their collective security than just a few years ago. They lead combat-ready battlegroups in the eastern part of the Alliance. They have increased the readiness of their forces. They have strengthened NATO, with highly capable Finnish and Swedish militaries joining our Alliance. And Europeans are ramping up their defence spending to record high levels.
When we made the Pledge to invest 2% of GDP in defence back at the Wales Summit of NATO in 2014, only three Allies met that mark – and that was the United States, Greece and United Kingdom. Just five years ago, there were still less than 10 Allies that spent 2% of GDP on defence. But later today when I see President Biden, I will announce new defence spending figures for all Allies. And I can already now reveal that this year more than 20 Allies will spend at least 2% of GDP on defence.
This is good for Europe and good for America. Especially since much of this extra money is spent here in the United States. NATO creates a market for defence sales. Over the last two years more than two-thirds of European defence acquisitions were made with U.S. firms. That is more than 140 billion U.S. dollars’ worth of contracts with U.S. defence companies. So, NATO is good for U.S. security, good for U.S. industry, and good for U.S. jobs.
It really feels like NATO’s core business is business!
Thanks for reading,
Notes: