Germany falls short of the NATO target of investing two percent of its gross domestic product in defense. The new defense minister nevertheless calls for an even higher benchmark. Chancellor Scholz and SPD party leader Klingbeil also agree, says Pistorius.
According to Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and SPD party leader Lars Klingbeil support a much stricter NATO target for defense spending. "That is my position and that of the chancellor and that of the party leader," Pistorius said on the sidelines of a NATO defense ministers' meeting in Brussels. The coalition should negotiate this within the next few days and weeks.
On the question of possible resistance from the Greens and the FDP, he says: "We will now have to talk about this internally. I will not want to anticipate the resistance of others."
Pistorius said in the morning that he shares the view of NATO partners that defense spending of two percent of gross domestic product (GDP) should be the lower limit in the future. "Just wanting to approach the two percent target will not be enough," he emphasized. "That must be the basis for everything else."
Pistorius was alluding to NATO's current goal. This envisages that by 2024 all allied countries should approach the benchmark of spending at least two percent of their GDP on defense. Discussions are currently being held in NATO about the future goal. An agreement should be reached at the latest at the next regular summit. It will be organized in Lithuania's capital Vilnius on July 11th and 12th.
As things stand today, tightening the two percent target would require an increase in German defense spending by an amount in the double-digit billions. So far, Germany has spent significantly less than two percent of GDP on defense. According to available public figures, only a rate of 1.44 percent was expected for 2022 - based on defense spending according to NATO standards of 55.6 billion euros.
