German Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck has criticized U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s call for NATO allies to increase defense spending to 5% of their GDP, calling it unrealistic in an interview published Thursday. Habeck stated, “What Donald Trump is proposing is unrealistic. We will not end up with 5%,” in response to Trump’s demands.
The Greens minister suggested a more reasonable target of 3.5% of GDP for defense spending, emphasizing that this would be a temporary increase. He clarified, “3.5% is roughly what is currently being discussed in NATO as a medium-term goal… If we ensure a reasonable level of security for Germany in a few years, we will be able to reduce spending again.”
In December, Trump’s team informed European officials that his administration would require NATO allies to commit to spending 5% of their GDP on defense. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has also called for defense spending to be significantly higher than the current 2% target.
