“It’s a lot of money,” Scholz told Focus magazine, adding that “we in NATO have a very clear procedure” for decision-making, and currently alliance members spend 2% of GDP on defense.
The chancellor pointed out that for Germany, 5% of GDP would mean about 200 billion euros a year and that the German federal budget is about 490 billion euros.
Therefore, by fulfilling Trump’s demand, Germany would have to save or borrow an additional 150 billion euros per year, Scholz explained.
“And that’s why I think it’s better to focus on the path that NATO has long agreed on,” the chancellor said.
However, Scholz admitted that “Germany needs to do more for security” and pointed out that Berlin has already roughly doubled its annual defense spending to almost 80 billion euros in recent years.
Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Scholz also announced additional defense spending of 100 billion euros to modernize Germany’s armed forces.