BERLIN, May 16 — Germany’s top officials are divided over former U.S. President Donald Trump’s bold call for NATO countries to spend 5% of their GDP on defense, stirring a fresh wave of debate as the country faces financial pressure and military challenges.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius refused to endorse the proposal, focusing instead on meeting NATO’s current goals. “What matters most is fulfilling NATO capability targets fully and on time,” he said at a press event alongside UK Secretary of State for Defense John Healy in Berlin.
Pistorius suggested that the alliance must shift its focus from how much money is spent to what outcomes are achieved. “We need to move from input to results,” he added. “It’s not just about figures, it’s about what those figures deliver.”
In contrast, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul threw his support behind Trump’s call for higher military spending. During an informal NATO meeting in Türkiye, Wadephul declared Germany’s readiness to follow the U.S. lead. “We see this as a clear sign of the U.S. commitment to NATO’s collective defense,” he said after speaking with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Wadephul also stressed Germany’s desire to take on a leadership role in European defense. “We want to lead by example and expect others to follow,” he noted.
Currently, NATO requires member states to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense. Germany only recently met this target. Raising it to 5% would demand around €225 billion ($250 billion), a sum that may be hard to come by.
New forecasts show Germany’s tax revenue will fall €81.2 billion short between 2025 and 2029. This puts Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s big defense and infrastructure plans in jeopardy.
Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil called for stronger economic growth to widen financial space. Meanwhile, industry leaders urged the government to focus on reforms and speed up budget planning.
Chancellor Merz has pledged to make Germany’s army the strongest in Europe, but with a weak economy, falling exports, and Trump’s looming trade tariffs, Berlin’s path forward looks uncertain — both on the battlefield and in the budget books.
