German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Thursday that Berlin in principle accepts the United States' demand to increase defense spending by NATO member states to 5% of GDP. This is reported by UNN with reference to DW.
Details
The result is the 5% that President Donald Trump called for, and we will follow his example in this regard.
NATO members are currently committed to spending at least 2% of GDP on military spending, which about a third of the alliance's countries still do not achieve, including Portugal (1.55%), Italy (1.49%), Canada (1.37%), Belgium (1.3%) and Spain (1.28%).
Germany currently spends just over 2% of its GDP on defense, and new Chancellor Friedrich Merz said last week that each additional percentage point would mean an additional annual expenditure of 45 billion euros ($50.5 billion).
Recall
In early May, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte proposed that members of the alliance increase defense spending to 3.5% of GDP. An additional 1.5% will go to broader security-related expenses.
Earlier, UNN wrote that in April 2025, Friedrich Merz announced the names of the first candidates from his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party for the posts of ministers in the new Cabinet of Ministers. In particular, it was about his fellow party member Johann Wadephul, who later headed the German Foreign Ministry.
Wadephul advocated allowing Ukraine to use German weapons to strike targets in Russia. He is an experienced expert on foreign and security policy.