Joint press conference by the NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte with the Federal Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, and the Minister of Defence, Boris Pistorius
On Wednesday (1 July 2026), NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte travelled to Germany for discussions with Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Defence Minister Boris Pistorius ahead of the NATO Summit in Ankara. Mr Rutte also attended a meeting of the German cabinet, the first time for a NATO Secretary General in recent history.
"Germany leads and Germany delivers, and the NATO Summit in Ankara next week will also be all about delivery. Delivering increased defence spending, more defence production, and strong support for Ukraine," said the Secretary General after the meeting. He praised Germany's substantial investment in defence calling it "an extraordinary achievement."
Mr Rutte also commended Germany for its strong contributions to NATO, including an armoured brigade permanently stationed in Lithuania and the 1st German-Netherlands Corps taking on tactical command for NATO ground forces in Estonia and Latvia. "NATO is, and will always be, a transatlantic Alliance but we need to rebalance it for the better. […] Working closely with the United States, European Allies and Canada are taking greater responsibility for the conventional defence in Europe," said Mr Rutte.
The Secretary General highlighted that Germany is a leader on aid to Ukraine and its strongest supporter in Europe. Mr Rutte also praised Germany for being an industrial powerhouse and he called on defence industries across the Alliance to "open new production lines, expand supply chains and deliver quickly what we need for our security."
Before leaving Berlin, Mr Rutte highlighted the continued importance of the transatlantic bond "Germany, Europe, and North America have always been stronger together in NATO."
