Rutte: NATO cannot spend €218 billion on defense fast enough due to lack of production capacity

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that European member states of the alliance and Canada have directed around €218 billion toward strengthening defense capabilities, but the funds cannot be absorbed in a short time — the defense industry is unable to cope with such a volume of orders.

Rutte made the statement at a press conference ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara. According to him, European countries and Canada have additionally allocated around €218 billion for defense, significantly increasing spending. However, limited production capacity in the sector prevents these investments from being implemented quickly.

The alliance’s secretary general stressed that even with substantial funding available, there are objective limits to how quickly the defense-industrial complex can scale up output. Expanding production takes time, and it will not be possible to fully spend the allocated funds within the next one to two years.

It was reported earlier that the United States is reducing its military presence in Europe due to concerns about escalation with Russia.