Investing two percent of GDP in defense every year: Boris Pistorius wanted to enshrine this in law – but the traffic light is backing away from the project.
Berlin – “We are clearly committed to the 2 percent target and will achieve it,” said the Federal Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius (SPD) announced in June. But the federal government does not want to commit itself to it in a legally binding manner. According to information from government circles, a corresponding formulation was made at short notice before the cabinet decision deleted from the draft of the budget financing law. Several media had previously reported this.
Instead, there is still talk of meeting the so-called NATO target on average over several years. So within five years it could sometimes be under- and sometimes over-fulfilled. According to information from German press agency The change happened at the request of the Federal Foreign Office, i.e. the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Annalena Bärbock (Green) – and against the wishes of the Ministry of Defense of Pistorius.
2 percent goal for defense: Ampel does not want to be legally committed
NATO’s so-called 2 percent target envisages spending two percent of economic output on defense each year. This year, NATO estimates German defense spending at 1.57 percent of economic output.
In July Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) emphasized at its summer press conference that the federal government will spend two percent of gross domestic product on defense in the long term, in accordance with the NATO decision. Also in his speech on the “turning point” shortly after the beginning of the Ukraine War he had already committed himself to the 2 percent target. This is to come from budget funds and temporarily from the 100 billion euro special fund financed.
Critics, including those from the CDU, complain that it is unclear what will happen once the special fund has been used up. (lrg/dpa)
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