Europe's security problems will multiply if the region does not hike its defence spending or clarify its ambiguous stance on the uses of force, said US, NATO, EU, and other officials. NATO's 2% of GDP spending guideline is as much for each ally's individual protection as for the alliance's collective mutual defence, said Douglas Lute, the US ambassador to NATO. Noting that NATO's founding act, the Washington Treaty, cites national self-defence before its mutual defence clause, he said, "It is time for European leaders to look at their ledger sheets to see if they are sufficiently spending on their own self-defence. You cannot close the 70:30% spending imbalance [between the United States and the European allies] over a couple of budget cycles. It will take a decade. And it must start now."
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