In the Face of Russian Threat and New NATO Demands, Germany’s Defense Minister Calls for a 30 Billion Euro Increase in Defense Spending
Germany’s Defense Minister, Boris Pistorius of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), is demanding that the country’s defense spending increase by at least 30 billion euros in the medium term, in the face of the Russian threat and new NATO demands from the incoming US administration of Donald Trump.
“We will have to discuss three percent rather than two percent of the GDP in the future” Pistorius told the Süddeutsche Zeitung, looking ahead to the future share of defense and armament expenses measured against the gross domestic product (GDP). “We are currently giving two percent of the GDP for defense expenses, thanks to the special fund. At three percent, we would be talking about something over 120 billion euros, given the current GDP, that’s 30 billion more than today” Pistorius said. This cannot be cut from a budget of 480 billion euros, he emphasized.
Those who, like Union’s Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz, claim that this can be achieved by simply cutting from the budget, are misleading the public, Pistorius said. The SPD wants to loosen the debt brake. Pistorius called for a long-term financing guarantee, also beyond election cycles. “We must plan much more than we have so far beyond the limits of legislative periods. Specifically, we need a roadmap for the next ten years.”
At the beginning of a legislative period, one should not primarily focus on the next four years, but rather ask, “Where will we be in ten years in the face of the threat situation?” What do we need in terms of modern technologies, artificial intelligence, drones, and other unmanned weapons systems? “Then it will quickly become clear that by the mid-30s, at the current price level, we will have to spend 130 to 150 billion euros, just for investments in armament and defense.”
He also misses a debate on this topic in the federal election campaign. “This is not a feel-good topic, although it affects the future of the people, so I can only repeat: the next generation will ask us what we did ten years ago to ensure they can live in safety in 2035.