Nato chief Rasmussen: 'Europe needs to step up'
Nato's Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, has told the BBC that European members of the alliance need to spend more on defence.
Mr Rasmussen said Nato was needed more than ever, but that European countries needed to "step up to the plate".
He echoed the comments made last Friday by the outgoing US Defence Secretary, Robert Gates, who criticised the Europeans for not doing enough.
Mr Gates said Nato faced the risk of collective military irrelevance.
He said he was exasperated that only four European countries - France, the UK, Greece and Albania - are spending 2% of GDP on defence.
"If current trends in the decline of European defence capabilities are not halted and reversed, future US political leaders - those for whom the cold war was not the formative experience that it was for me - may not consider the return on America's investment in Nato worth the cost."
Libya had revealed serious shortcomings, he added. Only 11 weeks into the operation against a poorly-armed regime, the allies began to run short of munitions. Supplies had to be brought in from the US.'Proper investments'
In an interview with the BBC's Newsnight programme, Mr Rasmussen said Nato was "more wanted and needed than ever", but that he shared Mr Gates' concerns about declining defence budgets across Europe.
"If we are to compete we also need proper investments," he said.
BBC
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13785056
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