Defense spending

Germany reports record amount to NATO

A Bundeswehr machine gunner during an exercise in Lithuania

(Bild: APA/AFP/PETRAS MALUKAS)

Against the backdrop of former US President Donald Trump's recent threats against defaulting NATO allies of the United States, Germany has now reported planned defense spending amounting to two percent of GDP for the first time in three decades. According to research by Deutsche Presse-Agentur, the German government submitted an amount for the current year that corresponds to a sum of 73.41 billion dollars (approx. 68.5 billion euros) when converted into comparable figures for the defense alliance.

According to the current NATO forecast, this record sum represents a GDP ratio of 2.01 percent. In the past, according to documents from the NATO archives, Germany last spent two percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) in 1992. In the years of the Cold War, the ratio was usually over three percent.

A Bundeswehr machine gunner during an exercise in Lithuania

(Bild: APA/AFP/PETRAS MALUKAS)

20 percent more defense spending than in the previous year
The new figures represent an increase in defense spending of more than 20 percent compared to the previous year, according to NATO circles. In the last public report on the defense spending of the alliance states, a comparative figure of only 56.64 billion dollars and a GDP ratio of 1.57 percent was given for Germany for 2023.

Donald Trump's possible re-election has reignited the debate on the defense capabilities of European countries.

(Bild: AFP)

The current NATO target for defense spending stipulates that alliance members should permanently invest at least two percent of their gross domestic product in defense each year. It was decided last summer in view of the threats posed by Russia. The previous target only stipulated that all alliance states should come closer to the benchmark of spending at least two percent of their GDP on defense by 2024.

Germany's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has a 20 percent higher budget compared to the previous year.

(Bild: AFP/Britta Pedersen)

What will be bought with the additional money
According to the German Ministry of Defense, the money will be used to finance new infantry fighting vehicles, frigates, submarines and state-of-the-art F-35A multi-role combat aircraft, among other things.

A few days ago, Trump caused a stir by declaring that he would not defend NATO countries against Russia in a second term of office if they did not pay their share. In Europe, this has fueled a debate about nuclear armament, among other things. Of the 31 members of the alliance, eleven are expected to reach the target of two percent of GDP for defense spending this year.