Germany's new government surprised NATO allies on Thursday by putting forward plans to boost defence spending, to meet a target of five percent of GDP demanded by US President Donald Trump.
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul made the pledge a day after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, in office for just over a week, said his coalition government intends to have 'the strongest conventional army in Europe'.
NATO chief Mark Rutte has floated a plan for members to hit the five-percent goal by spending 3.5 percent of GDP on military spending and 1.5 percent on other security measures such as infrastructure and cyber defence.
Wadephul, speaking at a NATO meeting in Turkey, pointed to Rutte's proposal to reach 'the five percent that President Trump demanded' and declared that 'we follow him there'.
In Berlin, Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil struck a more cautious note, saying that 'we will spend more on security, but how much that will be we will see in the agreement reached at the NATO summit' to take place next month in The Hague.
