German chancellor criticizes Trump’s new NATO spending target
Chancellor Scholz says spending 5% of GDP on defense would require Germany to allocate more than €200 billion ($204 billion) annually on military expenditures
BERLIN
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday raised doubts about US President-elect Donald Trump's call for NATO allies to spend 5% of their gross domestic (GDP) product on defense.
Speaking at a campaign event in Bielefeld, Scholz indicated that such a goal would not be realistic, as it would consume nearly 40% of the German government's annual budget.
“Five percent of our GDP would be over €200 billion ($204 billion) per year, our federal budget is currently less than 500 billion,” Scholz said. “This could only be achieved through massive tax increases or severe cuts to many things that are important to us.”
The German government significantly increased its defense spending following the outbreak of Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. Last year, Berlin reached NATO’s current 2% target by allocating more than €90 billion for defense and military procurement.
US President-elect Donald Trump, who repeatedly criticized European allies for not sharing the burden on defense spending, said last week that NATO goal should be significantly increased.
“They can all afford it, but they should be at five percent not two percent,” he told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
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