The FRG called Trump's plan to increase NATO defense spending by 5% of GDP excessive
Germany opposes the proposal of US President Donald Trump to raise defense spending in NATO countries to 5% of the GDP of each of them. This was stated by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on February 1.
As the head of the military department noted, the figure that the American leader is talking about is too big even on the scale of one FRG.
"Five percent of our GDP corresponds to 42% of the federal budget - that would be almost every second euro that the federal government spends, that is €230 billion. We could not afford it and we could not spend that much," Pistorius said in an interview with Tagesspiegel newspaper.
In addition, he emphasized that every decision in NATO can be made only after a collective discussion. As for Germany, its contribution to NATO's defense capability should be commensurate with its size.
"One thing is clear: in the future, Germany will have to spend more on defense, even more than the 2% of its GDP that the government currently allocates," the head of the Ministry of Defense said.
Prior to that, on January 21, Trump said he would push North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member states to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP and spend more than Washington to support Ukraine.
After, on January 29, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte held a telephone conversation with Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, following which he promised to increase the alliance's defense spending.
Earlier, on January 16, NATO Secretary General urged the alliance countries to switch to a wartime way of thinking. According to him, this is necessary to prepare for coming dangers and prevent conflicts.
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