Rutte to Maintain Stoltenberg's Priorities as NATO Secretary General - Media.

Mark Rutte, who previously served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands, will take over as the NATO Secretary General. This will be a significant challenge for him, as the Western alliance is in a tense situation due to the war in Ukraine, concerns about Russia's actions, and political uncertainty in the USA. This information is reported by Reuters.

For the first Time in ten years, the top position in NATO will pass from Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg to Mark Rutte. The new Secretary General will face many challenges, such as the possible return of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency and calls from Eastern European allies for more reinforcements to protect against Russia and Ukraine's requests for military assistance.

NATO leaders and diplomats hope that Rutte will maintain Stoltenberg's priorities, including support for Kyiv, mobilizing Alliance countries to increase defense spending, and involving the USA in European security.

Despite his political experience on the global stage, Rutte occasionally criticizes other governments and expresses his positions. However, in NATO, he may be required to focus less on fiscal frugality.

It is expected that many NATO member countries will achieve the set goal of allocating 2% of their GDP to defense this year, and the Netherlands has just reached this goal. However, there are proposals to increase spending even more, for example, to 2.5% of GDP, which is necessary for modernizing the Alliance's defense plans. The new NATO Secretary General will have to convince countries to invest more money in their own defense and to rapidly procure forces and resources.

Source: ZN.UA