German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul speaks during the 62nd Munich Security Conference (MSC) on February 14, 2026 in Munich, southern Germany. ALEXANDRA BEIER / AFP
France needs to boost its defense spending to turn calls for European sovereignty into concrete capabilities, Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Monday, February 16. "He repeatedly and correctly refers to our pursuit of European sovereignty," Wadephul said of French President Emmanuel Macron in a radio interview with broadcaster Deutschlandfunk. "Anyone who talks about it needs to act accordingly in their own country."
European nations are under pressure to develop the capabilities to better defend themselves amid increasing disinterest from the United States regarding the continent's security and some doubt over the solidity of the NATO alliance. Though NATO member states pledged last June to get defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, Wadephul said progress so far had been lacking.
"Unfortunately, efforts in the French Republic have also been insufficient to achieve this so far," Wadephul said. "France, too, needs to do what we are doing here with difficult discussions."
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