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To finance the increase, Merz’s government will suspend a constitutional debt brake and seek EU approval to cl***ify defense spending as exceptional, allowing it to skirt the bloc’s deficit limits.
The new spending will see €153 billion allocated to defense in 2029, up from €86 billion in 2025. Germany also pledged €8.3 billion in military aid to Ukraine next year.
The Hague summit is centering on boosting the alliance’s defense spending target from 2 percent of GDP to 5 percent: 3.5 percent of GDP for core defense and 1.5 percent for infrastructure and cyber. While driven in part by U.S. pressure, particularly from Trump, Merz framed Germany’s support as grounded in realism rather than transatlantic deference.
“[Russian leader Vladimir] Putin only understands the language of power,” Merz said, citing intensified Russian strikes on Ukraine and failed ceasefire diplomacy. He reaffirmed support for new EU sanctions targeting Moscow’s shadow oil fleet and pledged Germany’s commitment to NATO’s eastern flank, referencing the deployment of German forces to Lithuania.
The spending increase was approved by NATO countries over the weekend, although Spain says it will be allowed to spend less. That has other countries like Belgium also asking for more lenient treatment on the spending target.
A consensus communiqué is expected to endorse the 5 percent split with a midterm review before 2030.
Following the summit, Merz will travel to Brussels for a meeting of EU leaders to advocate for streamlined defense procurement and regulatory reform. “Security,” he told lawmakers, “is the condition for freedom, for prosperity and for peace — and we must be strong from within, and outward.”
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