Germany has expressed readiness to increase its defense spending to 5% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), responding to a long-standing request from U.S. President Donald Trump, Rks News reports.
Trump has long urged NATO allies to significantly increase their defense contributions. Initially, the benchmark was set at 2% of GDP, but he has recently raised that figure to 5%.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, in a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Turkey—where Ukraine-Russia peace talks are set to take place—said, “We are following through,” referring to Trump’s demand.
The new Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, emphasized Germany’s goal of building “the strongest conventional army in Europe,” referring to the Bundeswehr, which is currently understaffed.
However, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius from the SPD confirmed that mandatory military service will not be reinstated for now. The current model will be based on voluntary service, following the Swedish system.
Reintroducing mandatory conscription would require a two-thirds majority in the Bundestag, which the government does not currently hold. The left-wing party Die Linke, with 64 seats, opposes such a move. Party member Ates Gürpinar stated: “Die Linke rejects compulsory military service. The suspension of conscription in 2011 was a major achievement.”
Former Chancellor Olaf Scholz has opposed the idea of increasing defense spending to 5%, saying: “5% would be over 200 billion euros annually,” adding that the federal budget “doesn’t even reach 500 billion euros.” He stated this would only be possible through “massive tax increases or severe cuts to many things that are important to us.”
Meanwhile, during his campaign, Merz expressed that the percentage of GDP allocated to defense is not a priority for him: “Whether it’s 2, 2.5, or 5%, to be honest, that’s of secondary importance to me.”
