German Chancellor Friedrich Merz played up German defense spending efforts at a meeting in Berlin with Baltic leaders on Friday, shortly after fresh criticism from US President Donald Trump on the issue. Merz on German defense spending push: 'We have no reason to shy away'
"Germany is doubling its defense budget within four years. This is the greatest efforts we have ever made to strengthen our defense capabilities. In this respect, we have no reason to shy away from anyone," Merz told journalists.
"We will state this, with all due modesty, and we are doing so as the European Union's largest member state, bearing a responsibility within Europe," Merz said.
Trump, on his Truth Social media platform, said Thursday the NATO defense spending relationship is not "reciprocal" and that it was "ridiculous for the USA to continue along this one sided path." In a separate post, he claimed that Germany's spending was "MUCH LOWER between 2014-2025 than the US or other NATO allies."
The criticism comes as NATO leaders, including Trump, are expected to meet in Ankara, Turkey, next week. Merz said he would bring up Germany's defense spending figures at the summit. Ahead of summit, Donald Trump again threatens NATO unityTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
