The NATO summit is taking place in Turkey next week, and NATO Secretary General Rutte traveled to Berlin early and praised Germany. Chancellor Merz said Europe would appear “confident” towards the US at the summit.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte praised Germany’s contribution to the Western defense alliance. “Germany leads and Germany provides,” Rutte said during a visit to Berlin. There he took part as a guest in a meeting of the Federal Cabinet, which this time met at the Ministry of Defense.
“Germany already makes a significant contribution to our common security,” said the NATO Secretary General. He pointed to the German-Dutch corps, the deployment of a German armored brigade in Lithuania, aerial surveillance on NATO’s eastern flank, the protection of critical infrastructure by the German Navy and German support for Ukraine. Rutte also praised Germany’s increased defense spending.
“Quickly delivers what we need”
The NATO Secretary General called on the industry to quickly increase arms production. “NATO’s message to industry is very clear: be prepared, move faster, together, with new production lines and strong supply chains,” Rutte said. “Quickly delivers what we need. Because deterrence is as much manufactured in factories as it is designed by the military.”
Chancellor Friedrich Merz stressed that his government is accelerating its security policy. The CDU politician assured: “Germany can count on NATO, but NATO can also count on Germany.”
Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told a joint news conference with Merz and Rutte that Europe will continue to depend “urgently” on weapons systems from the US over the next five to 10 years. Germany works “closely” with the US defense industry and is “very interested in building certain systems or parts of systems in Germany.”
Merz: Europeans will look “confident.”
At next week’s NATO summit in Ankara, Europeans want to appear “confident” with the United States, Merz said. “We meet with the American government as equals,” the chancellor said. They are going into the coming week “totally self-confident” and telling the Americans: “You depend on us, we depend on you.”
Next week, Rutte will gather heads of state and government of NATO countries in the Turkish capital. The main focus there is on supporting defense spending by Ukraine and EU member states.
There is also the question of how European NATO partners can take on more responsibilities in the transatlantic alliance. The US plans to reduce its presence in Europe to become more involved in the Indo-Pacific region.