During a summit in Brussels, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth emphasized the urgency for European NATO members to increase their defense spending, echoing President Trump's long-standing call for greater financial responsibility among allies. Hegseth articulated that while concepts of values and cooperation are important, they cannot replace the necessity of military capability and hard power. He argued for a defense budget increase towards 5% from European nations, highlighting that security ownership should rest with all allies and not solely on the United States.
Leaders of our European allies should take primary responsibility for defense of the continent, which means security ownership by all allies.
Increasing allied European defense spending is critical. Real investment and urgency are paramount; we can talk values, but we need hard power for security.
Real investment is necessary: 2% is a start, but 5% is what we must strive for in defense spending by European nations.
Our dollars, our euros, our pounds must become real capability; expanding our defense industrial base capacity on both sides of the Atlantic is essential.
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