NATO leader Mark Rutte announced an increase in defence spending and production with U.S. President Donald Trump back in office. Rutte emphasized the need for allied nations to boost their defence spending in a statement shared on social media.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte expects the return of Donald Trump as US president will "turbo-charge" the Western alliance. "With President Trump back in office we will turbo-charge defence spending and production,

The return of Trump will once again put European defense spending levels at the center of the United States’ approach to NATO. Over the past several years, NATO members have boosted investments, with about 20 out of 32 members hitting the alliance’s benchmark of spending 2% of gross domestic product on defense.

Germany met NATO's target to spend 2% of its gross domestic product on defence in 2024, the government said on Monday, though well short of incoming U.S. President Donald Trump's call for as much as 5%.