NATO Secretary General at Atlantic Council Front Page Conversation, Washington, DC 🇺🇸 25 JUN 2026

Atlantic Council Front Page Conversation with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Washington D.C. during a visit to the United States of America, 25 June 2026.

🗣 | NATO Secretary General:

Fred, thank you so much for that, for the introduction.
And good afternoon, everyone here in this room.
It’s great to be back in Washington, and here with you at the Atlantic Council.
Let me first say, the Atlantic Council has been an indispensable intellectual partner to the Alliance for over six decades now. When we need rigorous, honest debate and analysis, the Atlantic Council delivers.
It doesn’t just study the Alliance, it strengthens it.
So really, Fred, thank you for your leadership.

It is wonderful to have the chance to connect with so many old friends today and to take stock of where the Alliance stands less than two weeks ahead of the NATO Summit in Ankara.
In Ankara, we are going to show the world that we are delivering on the commitments we made in The Hague last year.
We will breathe life into the concept of NATO 3.0: a stronger Europe in a stronger NATO.
We are going to show just how powerful NATO is.
And how ready and determined we are to defend all our citizens and every inch of our territory.

And today I will describe what I expect out of this Summit.

First, I expect an incredible transformation in defence investment.

As those looking to spend an afternoon at the Atlantic Council well know, last year in The Hague, we agreed to invest 5% of GDP in defence by 2035.
A historic decision. And a daunting, if essential, undertaking.

The direction of travel is clear and Allies are stepping up.
Several nations, including Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, are already spending well over the agreed targets. And they are moving with speed to continue investing more.
That is conviction.
Others are making remarkable strides. Like Germany, which is on track to double its investment in defence by 2029 from just a few years ago.
This will amount to over 150 billion euros per year.
That is magnitude.
These countries are leading by example.
And it is just the beginning. In Ankara, Allies will put forward concrete plans for increased investment.

Those of you who have been following NATO for a while now understand just how profound a change this is.
After years and years and years of under investment, we’ve seen a sea change in the approach to defence spending.
Over the last decade – from 2016 to 2026 – European Allies and Canada have spent an extra 1.2 trillion US dollars on defence.
1.2 trillion – with a “T”.
And in 2025 alone, they increased their defence investment by nearly 20%.
That equates to 139 billion additional dollars invested. In one year.
That is transformative.

Who would have imagined, a decade ago, that we would get this far? We couldn’t even have the conversation.
And yet, here we are:
Allies united around the imperative to invest in our security.
Committed to fairly sharing the responsibility.
Strong and getting stronger.

The threats we face are a key factor in this mindset shift.
But I am also convinced that we would not have made such an astounding leap without President Trump’s leadership.

Every US administration since President Eisenhower’s called on America’s Allies to invest more and take burden sharing seriously.
One President got them to do it.
I understand that some chafe at this observation.
But the reality is that European Allies and Canada are on a trajectory to equalise their defence spending with the United States.
And not just that.
They are taking on more leadership within NATO’s command and control structure.
Stepping up on conventional defence – including on efforts to bolster our deterrence and defence along the eastern flank, in the Baltic region and in the Arctic.
And spearheading support to Ukraine.
And this is NATO 3.0.
A stronger Europe in a stronger NATO.
Conviction of purpose, magnitude of investment, true transformation.
Now, we need supply to meet demand.
And this brings me to my second point.

Transcript continues: https://www.nato.int/en/news-a....nd-events/events/tra

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