Germany rejects Trump's 5% NATO defense spending target

Germany on Thursday dismissed efforts by US President-elect Donald Trump to press NATO members to spend a staggering 5% of the gross domestic product on defense-more than double the military pact's current spending target.

"What Donald Trump is proposing is unrealistic. We won't end up with 5%," Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck told newspapers of the Funke media group. The common NATO target is currently 2%.

Habeck reiterated his push for an increase in defense spending to 3.5% of gross domestic product, saying: "3.5% is roughly what is currently being discussed in NATO as a medium-term goal."

The changed security situation requires that Europe must do more for its own security, Habeck reiterated.

The current NATO goal stipulates that the alliance states invest at least 2% of their GDP on defense. According to the latest NATO figures, the German government has reported defense spending of around €90.6 billion ($93.3 billion) to the alliance this year. According to estimates, this could correspond to a GDP share of around 2.1%. In addition to the US, only four of the 32 NATO states are likely to have reached a mark of 3% in 2023.

Germany is currently meeting the NATO target with the €100 billion (nearly $103 billion) special fund for the country's military, which is financed through debt. The money from this special fund is expected to be spent by the end of 2027.