Germany has signed defence contracts worth €111 billion since 2022 under its military overhaul. The government increased spending after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but faces criticism over transparency.
A survey published on Monday by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) found that support for increased defence spending is highest in Poland and Denmark (70 percent), followed by Britain (57 percent), Estonia (56 percent) and Portugal (54 percent).
As NATO races to supply Ukraine before Trump takes office, Europe is struggling to touch two percent of its GDP on defence expenditure while Russia plans to spend more than 32 percent of its national budget on its military.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said that the Bundeswehr needs around €58 billion ($63 billion) in 2025 to quickly close capability gaps. “As things stand, we will be allocated around €52 billion”, he said, adding, “That means we will be short of almost €6 billion next year.”
Pistorius said that military spending should be excluded from the so-called debt brake rules that are written into Germany’s constitution, which were added to the German constitution in 2009, and only allow the government to rely on borrowing for deficit spending under certain conditions.
The list of 51 items proposed consists of a range of equipment and includes fighter aircraft, amphibian aircraft, tanks, artillery, small arms among others.
