Germany will not reach defense spending target of 3.5% in 2029
PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — German Navy Special Forces conduct a live fire exercise at Range 309 in the Grafenwoehr Training Area, Grafenwoehr, Germany, Sept. 26, 2025. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Thomas Dixon via U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service - DVIDS)
MUNICH - Germany will not hit its own 3.5% defence spending target in 2029, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Wednesday, as the country ramps up spending in the wake of Russia's war with Ukraine.
Germany's defence spending will only be 3.05% of gross domestic product that year, Pistorius said in Munich.
That is less than the 3.5% pledged by Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil earlier this year.
A NATO summit in The Hague this year agreed that allies will reach a new spending target of 5% of GDP by 2035. The target is made up of 3.5% in the defence budget, and another 1.5% of defence-related spending.
(Reporting by Alexander Huebner and Sabine Siebold; writing by Tom Sims; editing by Rod Nickel // REUTERS)
