THE HAGUE, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Dutch Finance Minister Eelco Heinen on Friday proposed cuts to development cooperation and asylum-related spending in order to meet the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)'s new defense spending target.
Speaking on the Dutch broadcaster BNR Radio, Heinen said the Netherlands must gradually restructure its budget priorities to align with NATO's new requirement, which was agreed upon at the NATO summit held in The Hague in June.
Under the new agreement, NATO member states will raise their defense spending to 5 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) annually by 2035.
The Dutch government has agreed to raise defense spending to meet NATO's new target. Currently, the Netherlands spends some 2 percent of its GDP on defense.
