In 14 years as Dutch PM, NATO's Sec-Gen Rutte never once spent close to the NATO minimum on defence

How much respect will Trump have for NATO’s new, Dutch, EU-loving Sec-General?

Montage © Facts4EU.Org 2025

Mark Rutte’s average spend as PM was two-thirds of NATO’s 2% minimum – what will Trump think of that?

In Part II of this report on Trump, defence, and the EU, we revealed the strange meeting which took place at the President-elect's Mar-a-Lago base in Palm Beach Florida, in November 2024. The Secretary General of NATO - a former Dutch Prime Minister and ardent Europhile, Mark Rutte - and the incoming President Donald Trump held a formal meeting after Mr Rutte had flown over especially for this.

Given their respective responsibilities it is extraordinary that almost complete 'radio silence' seems to have descended over this meeting. None of the parties has revealed anything about it and we must conclude it did not go well.

A Brexit Facts4EU.Org Pre-Trump Mini-Series
Trump, defence, and the EU - battlelines drawn

Part I - Even before Monday’s Inauguration, the EU's £½ TRILLION underspend on defence is on Trump’s mind
Part II - Exclusive : President Trump’s secretive Florida meeting with NATO’s new Secretary General
Part III - President Trump’s Belles and Beaux of the Ball – Which British and European celebs are going?
Part IV (This report) - In 14 years as Dutch PM, Rutte never once spent close to the NATO minimum on defence

In this fourth Part we look at the background, and how the NATO Secretary General's record of very poor defence spending during his 14 years in office may well have been used as an example by President-elect Trump of just how little EU countries as a whole have contributed to the defence of Europe over many decades, with only the US and the UK being the stand-out players.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

1. The Dutch Rutte government’s lamentable performance on spending the NATO minimum

2014 to 2023, using NATO’s own figures

All well below the NATO minimum, which should be exceeded.

[Source : NATO, 2025.]

In all his 14 years as Dutch PM, Rutte showed no interest in paying his way in NATO

Below we show just how much Rutte’s Dutch government owes NATO since the 2014 protocol was agreed. They underspent by almost $30bn.

The Netherlands of course has a small economy compared to that of the UK. In this report we look only at percentage spends on defence as a proportion of GDP, as this is what NATO also looks at.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

2. Rutte's underspend on defence according to NATO minimum, 2014-2023

[Source : NATO, 2025.]

Is Rutte tainted by the EU?

Rutte has EU blood running through him. A great many of the meetings he has held since taking office have been with his old friends in the EU, where he looks perfectly at home. Conversely, the European country that has spent the most money on defence for decades and which has arguably the most powerful forces, the United Kingdom, has been favoured with just one meeting with the NATO boss, on 10 October with PM Sir Keir Starmer.

Mark Rutte believes in the ‘European Projekt’. In 2020 he even hinted that the EU could be dissolved and re-formed, but this time without Poland and Hungary. He gave his reason as being the catch-all “danger to the rule of law”, but in reality it is clear he did not like these countries’ insistence that the EU should not become a unified superstate. Below is a quote from him speaking in a debate in the Dutch Parliament on 09 Sept 2020.

“Then you really get into other systems. You have to start thinking: can you make a budget through an intergovernmental treaty or can you establish a European Union without Hungary and Poland?”

Rutte’s own version of the EU’s constant call for an “ever closer union” is “a more perfect union”, from which readers may draw their own conclusions.

The Dutch Mounted Arms Regiment is mounted on.... bicycles

At this point we should add that Dutch military spending did at least include a budget for its Mounted Arms Regiment. And yes, true to national stereotype, this Regiment is indeed mounted partly on bicycles. In fact they even have their own marching band, although perhaps the term 'pedalling band' would be more appropriate. Below is a still from a recent performance, in case readers think we are making this up.

Credit : YouTube, Dutch Mounted Arms Regiment Band - click to enlarge

As we reported in Part II of this series, Dutch land forces are now under the command of the 10th Armoured Division of the Bundeswehr (the German Army). We must therefore assume that the German military machine has inherited the Dutch Mounted Arms Regiment as part of the package.

Rutte's history with the Russians

Unfortunately for people like Mark Rutte the Internet's memory can prove problematic. Below is an extract from a Free Europe interview which defines the start of the EU's dependency on Russian gas, fully endorsed by Mark Rutte, and at which the then Russian President was clearly delighted.

"German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev turned on a tap that opened the flow of gas at the western end of the new link during a ceremony in the northeastern German town of Lubmin.
"Today marks a remarkable, long-awaited event," Medvedev said. "We are launching the first pipeline of Nord Stream, which opens a new page in our country's cooperation with the European Union, and all previous speakers took note of that. For the first time, Russian gas will reach countries of the European Union directly."

"The prime ministers of France and the Netherlands - Francois Fillon and Mark Rutte - and EU Energy commissioner Guenther Oettinger also attended today's ceremony, underlining the political importance of a new energy link meant to strengthen the security of natural-gas supplies. Once seen as a means to bring extra Russian natural gas to Europe, the $10 billion pipeline's main purpose now is to lessen Moscow's reliance on transit pipelines that pass through Ukraine and Belarus."

At today's ceremony, it was billed as "the new gas supply route for Europe."

Since Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine we now all know how that turned out...

Observations

Mark Rutte comes across as a likeable person. Perhaps this goes some way to explaining how he was able to be Prime Minister of the Netherlands for nearly 14 years. As PM of a small country which is deeply factionalised with many small political parties and a succession of coalition governments, he certainly has experience of negotiating awkward and seemingly irreconcilable differences between opposing viewpoints.

In some ways it could be argued that he was therefore the perfect choice to be the new NATO Secretary General.

Rutte's history

There are, however, two problems. The first is his record. How can he be taken seriously when he now argues for an uplift in defence spending amongst NATO member countries? In the entire time he was PM of the Netherlands, never once did his administration come close to meeting the 2% of GDP target agreed by all NATO members back in 2014. Not only that, but the majority of European NATO countries didn't meet the existing target, let alone have any chance of meeting a higher one.

On top of that we have the EU member states who are not even members of NATO, such as the Republic of Ireland. In Ireland's case it is clear that they rely on the UK to defend them, without once dipping their hands into their pockets to pay for this.

The second issue is deeper. It is that Mark Rutte is at heart a believer in the European Project - a European superstate. Scanning his public meetings and announcements since he took up his new role, it is obvious how comfortable he feels discussing defence in a bloc that seeks to establish its own army. This is still denied to this day, naturally, and the EU keeps up the pretence that it wants to complement NATO, not replace it. Sadly, the sheer number of utterances on this subject over the years from various EU leaders and bureaucrats makes it quite clear where the direction of travel lies.

For 10 years now, the Brexit Facts4EU.Org team has reported on this. When President Trump expresses his exasperation with NATO countries, it must be said that we have every sympathy. We can only hope that the President continues to recognise that the UK, at least, is the only NATO country to have met its NATO commitments (% of GDP on defence, and % of total defence spending on equipment) consistently over the past 10 years. We welcome the recent increase in defence spending by those eastern EU countries most at risk of Putin's continuing aggression, but would ask where they were before now.

One thing is certain. It will be an interesting ride now that President Trump is back in the White House from noon today.

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[ Sources: NATO | Dutch second chamber, parliamentary transcript | Radio Free Europe | ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Mon 20 Jan 2025

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Reader Comments 5

1. LuxuryBalloon , Monday, January 20, 2025, 09:32:

Good to see Facts4EU is continuing to undermine the credibility of NATO by blurring the clear boundaries between NATO and the EU: both NATO and the EU have their head office in Brussels. And the new NATO secretary general must be EU-loving as he was PM of the Netherlands for 14 years.

2. terence patrick hewett , Monday, January 20, 2025, 11:22:

No doubt the US will Trump the Joker.

3. NH , Monday, January 20, 2025, 12:09:

The EU countries that have significantly increased defence spending since the Russian Invasion are all close to the Russian border. The countries far away from the Russian border have not bothered and some have reduced their defence spending. The EU seems to see this as a chance for another power grab and some countries are seeing this as an opportunity to try and force other EU countries to buy their equipment via the "EU defence industrial strategy". Nobody agrees on how EU defence plans should be funded.
.
This just highlights that they all have different motives and any attempts to agree a common defence plan will be a long draw out process and probably result in an weak defence capability. Trump is right to insist they comply with NATO terms or leave NATO.

4. Major Graham Lear , Monday, January 20, 2025, 14:19:

No civilian should hold the position of Secretary-General of NATO. This role should be filled by a high-ranking military officer, such as a General, with direct experience in warfare and its complexities. It is unreasonable for someone without firsthand knowledge of war to lead such an organisation. Leadership should reflect contributions, and those who provide the most resources, like the United States, should have greater influence. A seasoned leader, not inexperienced from a smaller nation like the Netherlands, is essential for this critical role..

5. terence patrick hewett , Monday, January 20, 2025, 19:38:

President Trump in his 2nd Inaugural Speech, has laid down the parameters for the governmental clash of the titans. We must hope that his spirit wins the battle, both in the US and the UK. Because no one will like the rough beast, which will slouch its way to power, if they lose the fight.

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