Mark Rutte
Dutch Council on foreign relations declared unfit for action, the country’s army. On Friday, March 10, Reuters reports.
According to the report of the Council, the government of Prime Minister Mark Rutte completely ignored the needs of the Armed forces of the Netherlands. Even if military spending will suddenly increase, the army and Navy of the country in the best case achieved a “basic preparedness” only to 2021.
The Council recommended that in the near future to provide additional funds to maintain the combat capability of the armed forces, increasing spending on defense at least to the average European level.
Earlier, NATO criticized the Netherlands for insufficient military spending, which currently account for less than 1 percent of GDP. The European average, the figure is 1.4 percent. The Council of the Kingdom on foreign policy in his report also advised members to spend at least two percent of the defense budget.
Now the Armed forces of the Netherlands participate in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, the air force of the Kingdom strikes at ISIS in Syria and Iraq.