“Time to really prepare”
Poland: Germany should buy more weapons
Updated 12/10/2024Reading time: 1 Min.
In terms of gross domestic product, Poland has the highest military spending in NATO. High-ranking politicians are demanding that Germany finally take the threat posed by Russia seriously.
There are renewed calls from those within the Polish government for Germany to increase its military spending. This is reported by the Canadian television station BNN Bloomberg, citing voices from the Polish Ministry of Defense.
Polish Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk also formulated a similar demand on the television station: Europe should develop plans to jointly finance weapons. In order for this discussion to get going, he believes the responsibility lies with the “center of Europe, especially Germany.”
Tomczyk told Bloomberg: “It really doesn’t happen often that the Poles say to the Germans: ‘You have to do more on weapons’.” He assumed that Germany recognized the danger posed by Russia – but instead of taking action, it only talked about future measures. “In this case, I would suggest that it’s time to really prepare,” Tomczyk explained.
Poland’s demands come in the context of a possible end to US support for Ukraine under President Trump. In addition, military spending also affects the controversial issue of NATO. Trump has repeatedly accused member states of not paying enough for military spending.
In 2024, Germany met the required two percent of gross domestic product for the first time. At 4.7 percent, Poland is, in relative terms, the NATO state with the highest military spending.