Freedom is not free. It has a cost — and if we do not pay the monetary cost required to deter Vladimir Putin today, we will pay the human cost down the line.
5-point plan for Defence
The scale of public and private spending increases required to defend Europe has been laid bare in a report published today by former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
In Freedom Isn’t Free, a five-point plan released ahead of the annual Copenhagen Democracy Summit, Rasmussen assesses that European NATO allies must surge defence spending to 4% of GDP by 2028 to develop an effective deterrent against a militarised Russia—and to ensure they can operate independently of the United States.
Rasmussen’s report comes as western intelligence agencies warn that Russia will be capable of attacking a NATO ally by the end of this decade.
“History tells us that hesitation and half-measures do not lead to peace — they lead to war and conflict. Europe must spend massively on defence, and we must make clear to Putin that we will do what is necessary to defend democracy.”
The five points expanded upon in Rasmussen’s report are:
- Surging Europe’s defence investment to 4% of GDP by 2028.
- Mobilising private capital into the defence sector by changing ESG rules and setting defence investment targets for financial institutions.
- Strategically focusing public funding on capabilities and military mass, while focusing private spending on developing Europe’s technological edge.
- Creating new public funding vehicles to attract private capital and help to raise 350 billion euros in private defence investment over the next five years.
- Fostering defence innovation in partnership with Ukraine, which has built the most innovative armed forces in history.