NATO summit in the Hague: Merz and Trump demand military strength!

NATO summit in the Hague: Merz and Trump demand military strength!

Den Haag, Niederlande - The first NATO summit since Donald Trump's re-enactment into the White House is taking place in the Hague, the Netherlands. Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) will present his foreign policy course in an important government declaration. The current conflicts in the Middle East and the precarious location in Ukraine are the focus. The participants, including Trump's counterpart Emmanuel Macron and the Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj, almost overturned to defend freedom and security in Europe.

The situation has continued to worsen through the violent reactions in Iran, which recently attacked a US military base in Qatar. Merz will also comment on the US participation in the conflict with Iran, while Trump described the Iranian retaliation attack as a "very weak answer". The leaders in Russia see the greatest threat to the stability of Europe. The topics of the summit therefore include the support of Ukraine, the defense against terrorism and the defense of the state areas, which are currently at the top of the agenda.

defense spending in the focus

A central theme of the summit is the defense spending of the NATO countries. Donald Trump demands that every member of the Allianz increase its defense spending to at least 5 % of gross domestic product. The preliminary cleaning stipulates that at least 3.5 % of the 5 % must be used for classic military spending. However, this encounters considerable resistance, especially in Germany, where you have only committed to 2.12 %. For example, ZDF that an increase would mean an immense sum of over 200 billion euros for defense, which would mean the planned defense budget for 2025 53.3 billion euros would exceed.

The NATO countries plan to issue around 2.71 % of their BIP for defense for 2024. This means that the European Allies and Canada will invest a total of around $ 507 billion for defense. The Russian attack war against Ukraine has significantly changed the perception of the threat and leads to increasing expenses, which were $ 943 billion in 2014. According to Tagesschau , most NATO countries have now reached the two-percent goal.

crisis discussion in the Haag

The security situation in Europe is underpinned by the greatest security operation in the history of the Netherlands. Under the name "Orange Shield", more than 27,000 police officers and over 10,000 soldiers are mobilized. This comprehensive use is intended to ensure security during the summit. Chancellor Merz and Macron hope that joint efforts and clear resolutions will significantly strengthen the defense capacity of Europe.

The summit has already started with a gala dinner in the castle of the Dutch King Willem-Alexander, and the discussions on defense together will take place in various dimensions until the end of the day. So it will be interesting to observe to what extent the different political views can be reconciled and which common resolutions are taken to combat the obvious threats and to secure stability in Europe.

whether Trump's claims can be enforced in the end and to what extent the NATO countries are willing to massively increase their defense expenses. But the urgency of the topic is clear: security has its price.