Last month, NATO members agreed to spend five percent of their GDP on defense, including 3.5 percent on "hard defense" like weapons and troops.
Berlin has pledged to reach that 3.5 percent spending target by 2029, marking the country’s most ambitious rearmament effort since the end of the Cold War. It means passing significant constitutional reforms allowing huge borrowing.
Merz has met Donald Trump three times since becoming chancellor in May and told the BBC he got on well with the U.S. president.
"I think President Trump is on the same page; we are trying to bring this war [in Ukraine] to an end," said Merz. "We are on the phone once a week; we are co-ordinating our efforts."
But the chancellor said he had not changed his mind that Trump was "largely indifferent to the fate of Europe," a comment he made after his election victory in February.
Trump was, Merz argued, "not as clear and as committed as former U.S. presidents were, former U.S. administrations were."
Merz said of the spending uplift: "We are not strong enough, our army is not strong enough, so that's the reason why we are spending a lot of money."
Yasuchika on July 21st, 2025 at 05:56 UTC »
But this was entirely by the US's own design after WW2.
yayosanto on July 21st, 2025 at 04:24 UTC »
One of the reasons he's saying this is purely economic propaganda, though. The German car industry, which is a main pillar in German economy, is failing. Germany needs a new source of income to replace it, and they're seeing the weapons industry as the most viable alternative. And Europe needs an economically strong Germany. That's why we're all becoming Spartans all of a sudden.
GovtLegitimacy on July 21st, 2025 at 01:31 UTC »
And all the US got for its presence and military support was... Incredible influence and additional military strategic locations!
It was a good deal for both, and helped hold both accountable to certain ideals, international law, and treaties.