SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Germany plans bigger defence budget as NATO to unveil target
Frankfurt, Germany, June 23 (AFP) Jun 23, 2025
Germany plans to raise its defence budget to 3.5 percent of GDP over the next five years, government sources said Monday, which would match a new NATO target for core military spending.

Defence spending will increase from 2.4 percent of gross domestic product this year, the sources said, as Europe's top economy takes steps to bolster its armed forces due to the growing threat from Russia and under pressure from US President Donald Trump.

"Germany's security is under threat," according to a budget planning document seen by AFP. "For the first time since the end of World War II, Germany and Europe must be in a position to guarantee their own security."

NATO is set to unveil its new target at a summit this week, under which allies promise to reach 3.5 percent on core military needs over the next decade.

The military alliance is also expected to set a 1.5 percent target for looser category of "defence-related" expenditures, such as infrastructure and cybersecurity.

Together, the spending aims will bring allies to the five-percent figure pushed for by Trump.

The military alliance's current target is for its 32 members to spend two percent of GDP on defence.

Under the German plans, set to be presented Tuesday as part of the national budget, 95 billion euros ($110 billion) will be spent on defence in 2025, including 62 billion from the normal budget, 24 billion from a special fund set up by the previous government and around nine billion allocated to support Ukraine.

It will then steadily increase to 3.5 percent of economic output by 2029, according to the sources.

The extra military outlays have been made possible after Chancellor Friedrich Merz pushed changes to Germany's strict "debt brake" through parliament that largely exempt defence spending from the rules.

He has vowed to build Europe's "strongest conventional army" to counter the growing threat from Moscow.

German defence spending has fallen heavily since the end of the Cold War and reunification, and the armed forces had suffered years of chronic underinvestment.

Berlin had already started ramping up defence investment since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine but Trump's demands and concerns about the strength of US security guarantees have given the spending drive new impetus.

Parliament still needs to approve the new budget and will vote on it on September 19.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Bearings Used in Space Technologies: Engineering for the Final Frontier
China prepares for Mars sample return with HKU astrobiologist on mission team
Robots could one day crawl across the moon

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Ultrasound triggers nuclear decay anomaly hinting at flexible space-time
AI system accelerates aircraft concept design using language models
Autonomous sub explores unexplored trench depths to reveal critical mineral clues

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
PLD Space selected as leading contender for ESA sovereign launch initiative
UK opens competitive bid for GBP 75 million orbital cleanup mission
Boeing wins major contract to deliver new generation strategic comms satellites

24/7 News Coverage
Glacier retreat could drive a surge in volcanic eruptions worldwide
UK thermal satellite firm wins ESA contract to deliver real time climate and security insights
Beyond male dominance in primates new study redefines gender power roles



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.