Germany Says It Will Meet Trump's 5% Spending Target for Nato

Foreign Minister Makes Pledge But Others Strike More Cautious Tone on Ambitious Aim

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ANTALYA, Turkey - Germany's new government surprised Nato allies on May 15 by putting forward plans to boost defence spending, to meet a target of 5 per cent of gross domestic product (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 5 per cent goal by spending 3.5 per cent of GDP on military spending and 1.5 per cent on other security measures such as infrastructure and cyber defence.

Mr Wadephul, speaking at a Nato meeting in Turkey, pointed to Mr Rutte's proposal to reach "the 5 per cent 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 in June in The Hague.

Mr Roderich Kiesewetter, a former senior German military officer and a politician in Mr Merz's CDU party, called the announced move a "paradigm shift", in an interview with the Bild daily.