Carney to begin talks on NATO spending target as summit starts today in The Hague
Prime Minister Mark Carney begins a two-day stop Tuesday in the Netherlands, where NATO alliance members are prepared to decide whether to more than double the defence spending target.
The main talks in The Hague won't happen until Wednesday, with Carney first set to take part in several bilateral meetings.
Carney will meet with the President of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs and the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Dick Schoof. He will also meet with leaders of Nordic countries for talks focused on Arctic and transatlantic security.
The prime minister will also meet with King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand is set to speak to reporters twice today, first in The Hague at around 7:15 a.m. ET and then virtually at 8:30 a.m. ET.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte have both said they expect alliance members to commit to a new target to spend the equivalent of five per cent of GDP on defence, up from the current two per cent target set in 2014.
None of NATO's 32 members spent that much on defence in 2024, according to the alliance's own data. All of them are pledging to meet the two per cent figure this year, including Canada for the first time since the target was created.
A Canadian government official who briefed reporters on background before the trip said the spending target and its timeline are still up for discussion. Some allies have indicated they would prefer a seven-year timeline, while others want a decade to reach the five per cent target.
Canada's defence spending hasn't reached five per cent of GDP since the 1950s. NATO estimates that Canada spent $41 billion in 2024 on defence, or 1.37 per cent of GDP. In 2014, Canada spent $20.1 billion, or 1.01 per cent of GDP, on defence.
Carney to sign defence pacts with EU and NATO as Middle East conflict takes centre stage
In 2014, when the current two per cent target was first set, only three NATO members hit the mark – the U.S., the U.K. and Greece.
Any new spending guidelines have to be made with the consensus of all 32 NATO member states, and no member is currently anywhere close. The U.S., at 3.38 per cent in 2024, was the highest, but President Donald Trump has said the figure shouldn't apply to the United States – only to its allies.
The plan Rutte is expected to put forward at the summit contains some wiggle room to help allies reach that high figure.
It would commit members to spending 3.5 per cent of annual GDP on core defence needs – like jets and other weapons – and 1.5 per cent on defence-adjacent areas like infrastructure, cybersecurity and industry.
Internal divisions have emerged in the lead-up to the summit.
Opinion: Spending is the talk of the NATO summit, but there's a bigger problem
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Sunday that Spain reached a deal with NATO to be excluded from the new spending target. Like Canada, Spain has long struggled to meet the two per cent target and has rejected the new proposal.
Rutte warned Monday that no country can opt out of the target and that progress made toward the new target will be reviewed in four years.
NATO's defence buildup is also controversial in Italy, where defence minister Guido Crosetto said recently the alliance 'no longer has a reason to exist.'
Countries much closer to Russia, Belarus and Ukraine all have agreed to reach the target, as have nearby Germany, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands, which is hosting the two-day summit starting Tuesday.
Canadian Defence Minister David McGuinty said 'stay tuned' when asked earlier this month if Canada would agree to the five per cent plan.
NATO countries agree to increase defence spending to 5 per cent
Jan Techau, a senior fellow with the transatlantic defence and security program at the Center for European Policy Analysis, said the overall level of ambition in Europe on defence has 'massively' increased over the last several years in response to Russian aggression.
'The closer to Russia you are, the more ambitious you are,' he said.
Speaking to reporters at a military cemetery in Antwerp Monday, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said that while he isn't comfortable with the five per cent target, it's important that the country remain in NATO. He also said the proposed 3.5 and 1.5 per cent breakdown 'helps a bit.'
Lauren Speranza, a fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, said the NATO summit is coming at a 'very precarious moment,' marked by uncertainty about the U.S. commitment to Europe, the grinding conflict between Russia and Ukraine and ongoing tensions over transatlantic trade.
Opinion: Twenty years late, Canada hits the old NATO target, just in time to fall short of the new one
Speranza said the meeting will offer some insights into how the Trump administration will approach the alliance going forward, following its criticisms of NATO and calls for Europe to take more responsibility for its own defence.
On Monday, Rutte said recent U.S. strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities were not a violation of international law.
Prime Minister Carney, who has called for a diplomatic solution to the crisis, said Monday that Iran has pursued nuclear weapons while expressing a desire to eliminate the state of Israel.
In a statement Sunday, Carney said Iran's nuclear program is a 'grave threat' to international security and that Canada has been 'consistently clear' that Iran 'can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.'
Tuesday's schedule also includes a reception and a social dinner hosted by the king and queen of the Netherlands.
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Vancouver Sun
18 minutes ago
- Vancouver Sun
Canada will pay for NATO spending hike partly by developing critical minerals: Carney
THE HAGUE — Canada will reach an even higher NATO spending target in part by developing its critical minerals and the infrastructure needed to get them to market, Prime Minister Mark Carney said as the annual leaders' summit of alliance members got underway in the Netherlands. Carney is in The Hague for the NATO leaders' summit, and made the comments in a pre-summit interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour that aired on Tuesday. Leaders are debating how much to hike the NATO spending target, with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte proposing to more than double it from the current two per cent of GDP, to five per cent. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Carney said he expects leaders will agree to boost spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP in ten years. Rutte's proposal is to hike spending to 3.5 per cent of annual GDP on core defence needs — like jets and other weapons — and another 1.5 per cent on defence-adjacent areas like infrastructure, cybersecurity and industry. Carney said five per cent of Canada's GDP would amount to about $150 billion per year. NATO said last year Canada spent $41 billion on defence. The prime minister said Canada will reach the target in part by developing deposits of critical minerals and that some of the work will be done in partnership with the European Union, EU member states, the U.K. and other countries. 'Some of the spending for that counts towards that five per cent. In fact, a lot of it will count toward that five per cent because of infrastructure spending — it's ports and railroads and other ways to get these minerals out,' Carney said. 'So that's something that benefits the Canadian economy but is also part of our NATO, our new NATO responsibilities.' Critical minerals refers to a series of metals and mineral deposits including lithium, cadmium and nickel, which are key elements for modern technology in everything from laptops and cellphones to high end defence systems. NATO released a list of 12 critical minerals last year that are a must for defence. They include aluminum, which NATO described as 'pivotal' to producing lightweight planes and missiles, graphite, used in the production of tanks, and cobalt, essential in the production of jet engines, submarines and jet engines. Canada has some of the worlds largest deposits of critical minerals. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand was at The Hague with Carney on Tuesday, where she told reporters that Canada is committed to increasing its defence spending but has questions about the 'timeline' for hitting the new NATO spending target. When asked if her government accepts the new spending benchmark, Anand said Canada has consistently supported NATO's spending targets. 'The question, really, is the timeline,' she told reporters in The Hague. She added some allies have proposed a 2029 deadline for meeting the target. 'We'd like to see steps along the way where there can be a re-examination of whether this is the right approach, augmenting at this rate in terms of domestic spend,' said Anand. In a call back to reporters in Ottawa Tuesday, Anand said it would be 'imprudent' to discuss Canada's position publicly before the NATO leaders discuss it at the table. She said questions remain about how much flexibility NATO members will be given as they pursue the five per cent target. All 32 NATO member states have to agree on a new spending target — and no member state is spending anywhere close to five per cent. At 3.38 per cent, U.S. defence spending as a share of GDP was the highest in the alliance in 2024. U.S. Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth and Rutte have both said they expect alliance representatives at the summit to agree to the new five per cent target. But U.S. President Donald Trump has said the figure shouldn't apply to the United States — only to its allies. Trump shared on social media Tuesday screenshots of a text sent to him by Rutte. A spokesperson for NATO confirmed for The Canadian Press that the text was legitimate. In the text, Rutte congratulated and thanked Trump for his 'decisive action' in ordering airstrikes on Iranian sites linked to its nuclear program. He told the president he was 'flying into another big success' in The Hague and that 'we've got them all signed onto 5 per cent!' 'Europe is going to pay in a BIG way, as they should, and it will be your win,' Rutte said. Britain, France, the Netherlands and Germany have all committed to the five per cent goal. NATO nations closer to the borders of Ukraine, Russia and its ally Belarus have also pledged to do so. But not everyone seems to be on board. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Sunday that Spain reached a deal with NATO excluding it from the new spending target. Like Canada, Spain has long struggled to meet the two per cent target and has rejected the new proposal. On Tuesday, Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico suggested that his country might be better off embracing neutrality. He also released a statement saying the new defence spending target would amount to almost a fifth of the country's budget, which he called 'absolutely absurd.' Rutte warned Monday that no country can opt out of the target and that progress made toward the new target will be reviewed in four years. NATO set the current two per cent target in 2014. This year, for the first time ever, all 32 member nations are expected to meet it. In 2014, when the current two per cent target was set, only three NATO members hit the mark — the U.S., the U.K. and Greece. Canada's defence spending hasn't reached five per cent of GDP since the 1950s, and hasn't been above two per cent since 1990. NATO estimates that Canada spent $41 billion in 2024 on defence, or 1.37 per cent of GDP. In 2014, Canada spent $20.1 billion, or 1.01 per cent of GDP, on defence. Ottawa said last year it would be able to hit two per cent by 2032, but Carney said earlier this month it will happen this year. In Brussels on Monday, he also announced that Canada had formally signed a new defence and security pact with the European Union that opens the door to defence procurement deals between Canada and European countries. Anand said that new partnership will expand Canada's defence industrial base. The main talks in The Hague won't happen until Wednesday and leaders spent much of Tuesday in bilateral meetings. Carney met with leaders from Latvia and the Netherlands. He also met with representatives of Nordic nations to discuss Arctic and transatlantic security. The prime minister also had an audience with King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands. Lauren Speranza, a fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, said the NATO summit is coming at a 'very precarious moment,' marked by uncertainty about the U.S. commitment to Europe, the grinding conflict between Russia and Ukraine and ongoing tensions over transatlantic trade. — With files from Kyle Duggan in Ottawa and The Associated Press Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
CBC
19 minutes ago
- CBC
When missiles rain down on Israel, Arab communities say they have nowhere to hide
When rockets and missiles are fired at Israel, sirens go off and Ilan Amit takes his family to the public shelter conveniently located four stories beneath his street in Jerusalem. "When I'm down there, I feel completely safe," he told As It Happens host Nil Kӧksal. "My thoughts are with my friends and colleagues and partners who don't have a bomb shelter where they live — not a public one, not one in their house, no ways to protect themselves at all." Most municipalities in Israel have several public bomb shelters, but many Arab-majority communities lack that same infrastructure — especially desert settlements that Israel doesn't recognize as legal. As Israel engages in wars in Gaza and Iran, advocates like Amit are highlighting that security disparity, and working to fix it. Amit is co-CEO of the non-profit Arab-Jewish Center for Empowerment, Equality, and Co-operation (AJEEC), which is deploying mobile bomb shelters made of concrete to the communities that need them most. But, ultimately, he says it's a problem that won't be fixed without significant government investment. Asked for comment, Israel's defence ministry directed questions to the Israeli Defence Force, which did not respond to CBC before deadline. Family killed in town with no public bomb shelters As of Tuesday, a fragile ceasefire took hold between Israel and Iran. But just a couple weeks ago, Iranian missiles struck the northern town of Tamra and killed a family of four. Among them were Nidal Abu Al Heija's sister. When a phone alert sounded on June 14 to warn of Iranian missiles flying towards Tamra, Abu Al Heija called his sister to tell her to take shelter with her daughters, but no one answered. After the alert, he rushed to the area where she lived. The street was full of people and littered with debris. "I was asking people what happened and someone, he just said to me 'Oh, Nidal'. He didn't know what to say. And then the other one says, 'It's your own sister's house'," Abu Al Heija told Reuters four days after the strike. The house had taken a direct hit. "Darkness, dust, smell of bomb, something I don't want to remember," said Abu Al Heija. "I was just going there shouting 'Noura! Noura! Shada! Hala!' And then unfortunately I saw her coming, people holding her, with no breath." Known to her family as Noura, Manar Abu Al Heija Katib, 45, and two of her daughters, Shada, 20, and Hala, 13, were killed, along with Manar's sister-in-law, Manar Diab Katib, 41. The only survivors were Manar Abu Al Heija Katib's husband, Raja Katib, and their third daughter, Razan. Unlike many Arab households, the Katibs had reinforced safe rooms on the top floor of their house, in keeping with Israeli construction standards put in place in the 1990s. But it wasn't enough to protect them. Part of the roof had collapsed, crushing the top floor. 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In fact, the IDI and other advocacy organizations say there has been little to no progress on this front since a 2018 State Comptroller's report in Israel found that 60 out of 71 Arab municipalities in Israel have no public shelters. "This situation is not only immoral but also unconstitutional and grossly violates the right to equality, and the state's obligations to protect the right to life, protection and security," Abir Joubran, an attorney for the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, said in a press release issued after the Tamra strike. The report also found that 46 per cent of Israel's Arab citizens live in houses without any reinforced safe rooms, compared to 26 per cent for the wider population. Unrecognized villages have 'no way to protect themselves' Amit says the situation is even worse for the roughly 150,000 Arabs who live in Bedouin villages that are not recognized by the Israeli government. "Those are villages in the Negev, in a desert in the south of Israel, that have zero shelters, no public shelters, no domestic shelters, no mobile bomb shelters, no way to protect themselves while missiles are falling," Amit said. "And unfortunately, that population … lives adjacent to Israeli air bases, which means that the Iranian rockets are focusing precisely on those areas. That's the population we're worried about." AJEEC runs an emergency response centre to address the specific needs of unrecognized villages. "We're currently focusing on purchasing mobile bomb shelters," Amit said. "Those are huge pieces of concrete, basically, and placing them next to clinics and schools." Before the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas-led militants, Amit says Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system wasn't covering huge swaths of Bedouin communities. Because Israel does not officially recognize the villages, the system saw those parts of the map as open agricultural areas, he said. "Today, we're in a bit of a different situation. The military is intercepting those ballistic missiles coming down on the Negev in those areas, but there's so much debris coming down on those villages," he said. "Those are burning pieces of metal coming down from the sky from the interception of those missiles. And we are seeing more and more hits in houses, people that are being injured." Amit has been addressing Israel's parliament, writing op-eds in local newspapers, and reaching out to lawmakers to push Israel to bridge the security gap between Arab and non-Arab populations. While the current government is not always easy to work with, he says he believes they are making progress. Still, he says, there's "a lot to do."
Edmonton Journal
20 minutes ago
- Edmonton Journal
Canada will pay for NATO spending hike partly by developing critical minerals: Carney
Article content THE HAGUE — Canada will reach an even higher NATO spending target in part by developing its critical minerals and the infrastructure needed to get them to market, Prime Minister Mark Carney said as the annual leaders' summit of alliance members got underway in the Netherlands. Carney is in The Hague for the NATO leaders' summit, and made the comments in a pre-summit interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour that aired on Tuesday. Article content Article content Leaders are debating how much to hike the NATO spending target, with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte proposing to more than double it from the current two per cent of GDP, to five per cent. Carney said he expects leaders will agree to boost spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP in ten years. Rutte's proposal is to hike spending to 3.5 per cent of annual GDP on core defence needs — like jets and other weapons — and another 1.5 per cent on defence-adjacent areas like infrastructure, cybersecurity and industry. Carney said five per cent of Canada's GDP would amount to about $150 billion per year. NATO said last year Canada spent $41 billion on defence. The prime minister said Canada will reach the target in part by developing deposits of critical minerals and that some of the work will be done in partnership with the European Union, EU member states, the U.K. and other countries. Article content 'Some of the spending for that counts towards that five per cent. In fact, a lot of it will count toward that five per cent because of infrastructure spending — it's ports and railroads and other ways to get these minerals out,' Carney said. 'So that's something that benefits the Canadian economy but is also part of our NATO, our new NATO responsibilities.' Critical minerals refers to a series of metals and mineral deposits including lithium, cadmium and nickel, which are key elements for modern technology in everything from laptops and cellphones to high end defence systems. NATO released a list of 12 critical minerals last year that are a must for defence. They include aluminum, which NATO described as 'pivotal' to producing lightweight planes and missiles, graphite, used in the production of tanks, and cobalt, essential in the production of jet engines, submarines and jet engines. Article content Canada has some of the worlds largest deposits of critical minerals. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand was at The Hague with Carney on Tuesday, where she told reporters that Canada is committed to increasing its defence spending but has questions about the 'timeline' for hitting the new NATO spending target. When asked if her government accepts the new spending benchmark, Anand said Canada has consistently supported NATO's spending targets. 'The question, really, is the timeline,' she told reporters in The Hague. She added some allies have proposed a 2029 deadline for meeting the target. 'We'd like to see steps along the way where there can be a re-examination of whether this is the right approach, augmenting at this rate in terms of domestic spend,' said Anand. In a call back to reporters in Ottawa Tuesday, Anand said it would be 'imprudent' to discuss Canada's position publicly before the NATO leaders discuss it at the table. She said questions remain about how much flexibility NATO members will be given as they pursue the five per cent target. Article content All 32 NATO member states have to agree on a new spending target — and no member state is spending anywhere close to five per cent. At 3.38 per cent, U.S. defence spending as a share of GDP was the highest in the alliance in 2024. U.S. Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth and Rutte have both said they expect alliance representatives at the summit to agree to the new five per cent target. But U.S. President Donald Trump has said the figure shouldn't apply to the United States — only to its allies. Trump shared on social media Tuesday screenshots of a text sent to him by Rutte. A spokesperson for NATO confirmed for The Canadian Press that the text was legitimate. In the text, Rutte congratulated and thanked Trump for his 'decisive action' in ordering airstrikes on Iranian sites linked to its nuclear program. He told the president he was 'flying into another big success' in The Hague and that 'we've got them all signed onto 5 per cent!' Article content 'Europe is going to pay in a BIG way, as they should, and it will be your win,' Rutte said. Britain, France, the Netherlands and Germany have all committed to the five per cent goal. NATO nations closer to the borders of Ukraine, Russia and its ally Belarus have also pledged to do so. But not everyone seems to be on board. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Sunday that Spain reached a deal with NATO excluding it from the new spending target. Like Canada, Spain has long struggled to meet the two per cent target and has rejected the new proposal. On Tuesday, Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico suggested that his country might be better off embracing neutrality. He also released a statement saying the new defence spending target would amount to almost a fifth of the country's budget, which he called 'absolutely absurd.' Rutte warned Monday that no country can opt out of the target and that progress made toward the new target will be reviewed in four years. Article content NATO set the current two per cent target in 2014. This year, for the first time ever, all 32 member nations are expected to meet it. In 2014, when the current two per cent target was set, only three NATO members hit the mark — the U.S., the U.K. and Greece. Canada's defence spending hasn't reached five per cent of GDP since the 1950s, and hasn't been above two per cent since 1990. NATO estimates that Canada spent $41 billion in 2024 on defence, or 1.37 per cent of GDP. In 2014, Canada spent $20.1 billion, or 1.01 per cent of GDP, on defence. Ottawa said last year it would be able to hit two per cent by 2032, but Carney said earlier this month it will happen this year. In Brussels on Monday, he also announced that Canada had formally signed a new defence and security pact with the European Union that opens the door to defence procurement deals between Canada and European countries. Latest National Stories
