Germany: Military Spending Cannot Exceed 5% of GDP

A new battlefront has opened between the United States and the European Union following statements by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (pictured), who on Monday, February 3, spoke out against President Donald Trump’s proposal to “increase military spending by NATO member states from the current 2% to 5% of their gross domestic product.”

According to Pistorius, “5% of Germany’s GDP currently corresponds to 42% of Germany’s federal budget,” Pistorius explained in an interview with Tagesspiegel. “We can’t afford it, and we can’t spend that much,” emphasized the minister, according to whom every decision at the NATO level “must be based on the results of collective discussions.”

For his part, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who finds himself in a dire predicament less than three weeks before upcoming legislative elections, called on European Union member states to “find a concrete and common agreement to strengthen our defense industry.” Arriving in Brussels, where an EU defense summit is currently underway, Scholz said that “European countries must develop a system for closer defense cooperation, they must create concrete joint procurement opportunities, as well as start large-scale joint production to ensure our defense and deterrence capabilities.” Scholz also emphasized that the 2% GDP target has been achieved by most NATO states and that “this will strengthen Europe’s security and defense capabilities.”