Stars and Stripes:
Germany must spend billions more on defense to shoulder a larger share of NATO’s security burden, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a speech that could serve as a political turning point for a country wary of an expanded military role.
The goal, Merkel said, is to dedicate 2 percent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product to military matters, a NATO spending benchmark that Germany — along with most other alliance members — has failed to achieve.
“In the 21st century, we won’t be getting as much help as we got in the 20th,” Merkel said Saturday at a conference of young conservatives from her Christian Democratic Union party in the city of Paderborn. “We need to greatly increase it (the German military budget) to get from 1.2 to 2 percent.”
The goal of 2 percent of GDP was adopted by NATO’s nations a decade ago, but currently only five member states fulfil the nonbinding requirement: the U.S., Estonia, Greece, Great Britain and Poland.
To reach 2 percent, Germany must increase spending to $66 billion by 2020, about $25 billion more than is currently planned by 2020. Threats on “Europe’s doorstep,” require more investment, Merkel said.
