Pistorius called increased military spending a major challenge for the DFL government

Ensuring higher defense spending is a top priority for the new German government. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said this on February 14, speaking at the Munich Security Conference.

He noted that Germany needs to find a solution as soon as possible on how higher defense spending will be financed from 2028, when the special fund will be exhausted.

"Otherwise the defense budget will be reduced to €52-53 billion," the minister said.

According to Pistorius, an amount of €85 to 90 billion is needed to reach the 2% of GDP defense spending target and €120 billion is needed for defense spending of 3% of GDP.

He also reiterated his call to free defense and security spending from the "debt brake," which prohibits spending more from the budget than it receives.

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Early parliamentary elections in Germany will be held on February 23. According to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier the Bundestag will continue its work until a new government is formed.