Nato chief urges European allies to ramp up defence spending

Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte called for increased defence spending Picture: AP

Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte has led a fresh push for European countries to ramp up defence spending, a budget shortfall that President-elect Donald Trump previously used to berate America’s allies during his first term in office.

After Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula a decade ago, Nato leaders agreed to halt the defence cuts that began when the Cold War ended and to move toward spending 2% of GDP on their military budgets.