Germany must significantly increase its defense spending, a senior NATO general said on Friday.
Against the backdrop of the increased Russian threat to European security, German NATO General Christian Badia has recommended an increase of as much as 50% to the country’s current defense budget.
Christian Badia told the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper that spending should rise to 3% of gross domestic product (GDP), well above the NATO guideline of 2%.
He argued: “2% is not enough for Germany. The direction should be 3%.”
Badia, a German Air Force commander, is also responsible for the continued development and adaptation of NATO’s military alliance.
However, his demand could prove difficult to achieve.
Germany is currently trying to reach the 2% target with the help of a special fund of 100 billion euros for the Bundeswehr, the country’s armed forces, announced in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Spending 3% of economic output on defense would require a €40 billion boost for the Bundeswehr, a huge sum considering Germany’s recent economic problems.
In Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s latest budget proposal, regular defense spending increased by only 1.3 billion euros to a total of 53.25 billion euros.
The German newspaper Welt am Sonntag had previously reported on NATO plans to increase the number of combat troops in response to the Russian threat.
According to the report, the Ministry of Defense in Berlin assumes, based on NATO’s Minimum Capability Requirements (MCR), that five to six additional brigades will have to be added to the ten combat brigades already deployed to the German land forces from 2031 .
The total number of combat brigades in the alliance should therefore increase from 82 to 131. A German brigade typically consists of about 5,000 men and women.
According to Welt am Sonntag, a Defense Ministry spokesperson spoke of continuous planning, with NATO adapting to a changing situation every four years.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has repeatedly called for a significant increase in defense spending and has also made clear that more soldiers are needed for defense capabilities.
Pistorius is currently working out the details of a new model for compulsory military service.
After the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, the Federal Republic of Germany began compulsory military service for male citizens in 1956. This was discontinued in 2011.
