Merkel’s criticism of NATO’s plan is based on Germany’s spending cuts, says Trump

• Further, Merkel’s criticism of NATO’s plan is based on Germany’s reduction in defense spending.
• Trump on Truth Social called the alliance’s strategy «ridiculous» and «one-sided», adding that Germany’s defense spending in 2014–2025 will be lower than in the USA.
• In the materials it is stated that Germany’s defense spending at 3.5% of GDP through 2029, and it is also argued that Latvia’s defense spending will be higher and will reach 5% of GDP by 2035, and that core defence items will be at 3.5% of GDP through 2035.

In the end, Merkel’s criticism of NATO’s plan was based on a comparison with the USA Donald Trump’s claim that Germany’s plan for defense spending is smaller than that of the USA. According to the materials, Merkel’s argument is that Germany will not exceed the 3.5% of GDP threshold by 2029.

Merkel claimed, with reference to the NATO «two percent» defense spending target, that it is the highest level of spending. He also noted that Germany will be at a lower level of spending than the USA.

As for the materials, the criticism is based on the fact that NATO’s plan does not include an increase in Germany’s defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. It is also argued that the NATO plan does not include a commitment to reach 3.5% of GDP for «core defence items» by 2035.

It is also noted in the materials that NATO’s defense spending target for Germany is 2.4% of GDP in 2025, which is 2 percentage points lower than the USA. The materials also say that Germany will spend less than the USA on defense spending.

The materials also state that NATO’s defense spending target for Germany is «ironclad commitment» to the collective defense spending target of 5, while the USA will require that the final amount of defense spending be at least 5%.

In particular, it is stated that the NATO plan includes a commitment by Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nausėda to increase defense spending for Lithuania. According to the materials, Nausėda said that the country will increase defense spending to 2% of GDP, and that the Baltic states will increase defense spending to 3% of GDP.

The materials also say that Merkel «withdrew» from the NATO plan, which would mean that Germany would not meet the defense spending targets. As the materials say, Lithuania has a plan to increase defense spending, while Germany has a plan to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP.

Tags: Europe/Politics