Rutte: The EU must boost defense spending; otherwise, we may have to learn Russian.

He made this statement during a speech at the European Parliament, as reported by Barron's.

“We all want this war to end, but above all, we want peace to continue,” said Rutte.

In his view, this will only be achievable when Ukraine comes to the negotiating table with a strong position. The NATO Secretary General added that this requires ongoing support for Ukraine: providing more weapons and doing so more swiftly.

“Peace will not last if Putin, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong Un, and the regime in Tehran greet each other feeling stronger,” emphasized the politician.

At the same time, Rutte urged European countries to invest more in their own security. According to him, the current defense spending level of 2% of GDP is insufficient to ensure safety in the future.

“If we don’t do this, we may be safe now, but not in four or five years. If you don’t take action, consider taking Russian language courses or moving to New Zealand,” stated the NATO Secretary General.

It is worth noting that the new EU Commissioner for Defense and Space, Andrius Kubilius, wants the next seven-year budget of the bloc to allocate 100 billion euros for defense. Meanwhile, the current seven-year budget, which exceeds 1 trillion euros, only allocates 10 billion euros for defense.

He remarked that the EU must be prepared for the possibility of Russian aggression.